Fact or Friction
Friday, January 4th - Sunday, January 27th, 2008
Curated by Ruba Katrib and Geir Haraldseth
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Fact or Friction collected work from artists and cultural producers who are skilled (and not so skilled) spin- doctors, turning historical facts and situations into exaggerated and dubious retellings. Ranging from the poetic, to the humorous, to the prophetic, all the works in the exhibition reexamine the lines between truth and fantasy. The works test limits in how far truths can be stretched before they enter the realm of absurdity and parody.
The exhibition included ten artists and projects that blur reality and fiction. The artists featured were Marco Boggio Sella (Italy), Lene Berg (Norway), Adam Chodzko (United Kingdom), Aramis Gutierrez II (Venezuela), Scott Hug (USA), Tova Mozard (Sweden), and My Barbarian (USA). We all Laughed at Christopher Columbus, also featured, is an exhibition-as-publication curated by Krist Gruijthuijsen and November Paynter, which includes contributions by Mieke Bal, Matthew Buckingham, Jeremiah Day, Omer Fast, Leyla Gediz, Runo Lagomarsino, Deimantas Narkevicius, Dee Williams, and Florian Wüst. Wikiality.com is a website initiated by comedian Stephen Colbert in response to wikipedia.com, an online encyclopedia with often ambiguous information.
Ruba Katrib is the Assistant Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami. She holds an MA in Curatorial Studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS) at Bard College, New York. İn 2002, she co-founded ThreeWalls, a non-profit artist residency and exhibition space in Chicago.
Previously she has worked in museums and institutions including The Centre Pompidou in Paris, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and The Renaissance Society at the University in Chicago. She has curated a number of exhibitions with international emerging and mid-career artists in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Mexico City. In addition, she has been a visiting critic at the Bethanien Residency Program in Berlin, Germany, IASPIS in Stockholm, Sweden and the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York.
Geir Haraldseth is an independent curator. He was awarded a curatorial residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Studies Program, NY in 2006. Haraldseth holds an MA in curatorial studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS) at Bard College, NY. He received his BA from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London.
