On Sunday, September 22, you can celebrate Austin Museum Day 2019 at The Contemporary Austin with various family-friendly events. (Create a pinch pot or a mythological beast!) As of this coming weekend the Contemporary hosts the exhibition The Sorcerer’s Burden: Contemporary Art and the Anthropological Turn at both of its locations — the Jones Center on Congress Avenue and the Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria.
The two-campus exhibition includes various events and workshops beginning on September 14, most of which are free to members. The exhibition is arranged into four themes: “Ritual, Magic, Myth,” “Farther Afield,” “The Spyglass of Anthropology,” and “Things.”
Organized by The Contemporary Austin’s chief curator Heather Pesanti, The Sorcerer’s Burden presents eleven artists, including Texas artists Marie Lorenz of Austin (and Brooklyn) and Dario Robleto of Houston. From the curatorial statement:
“Globalization, the rapid escalation of technology, and postcolonial discourse have rendered cultures and disciplines in close proximity to one another, disrupting the concept of otherness central to cultural critique and resulting in reflexivity and expanded dialogues across not only art and anthropology but the humanities and sciences more broadly. In the past several decades, as artists strive to adapt, invent, and stay relevant, they have adopted ethnographic methodologies and ambitions as creative tools.”
For a full schedule of events and exhibition statements for The Sorcerer’s Burden: Contemporary Art and the Anthropological Turn, please visit The Contemporary Austin online.
