TRUTH BE TOLD

TRUTH BE TOLD

, temporary monument by LigoranoReese

On January 20, 2018, the first anniversary of the Trump administration, conceptual artists LigoranoReese are melting a 2,000 pound ice sculpture of the word Truth in the garden of Jim Kempner Fine Art in New York City. The installation, Truth be Told, symbolizes the emergence of an alternate fact world – where belief supplants truth.

The work will last for days, one week, possibly longer, an almost imperceptible disintegration that belies the force and speed at which the current administration is attempting to undermine the basic concepts of our nation's history and governance.

Truth Be Told is the sixth sculpture of Melted Away the temporary monuments series begun in 2006. In presenting these works the artists have discovered that melting ice is an ideal medium to depict the transformation of social values and semantic meaning. Remarking on Melted Away, art critic Robert Atkins has written, “The ice sculpture’s straightforward display conceals a rare capacity to elicit complex reactions and intense emotions demonstrating sculpture’s power to engage our bodily awareness.”

On January 20 of last year, we entered uncharted territory with no exact way to measure just how far away real ground truth lies. The monuments of Melted Away are markers for the opening decades in the 21st century - first, DEMOCRACY is broken, then, the ECONOMY ruined; the MIDDLE CLASS disappears, THE FUTURE is tenuous, THE AMERICAN DREAM vanishes, and TRUTH remains an open question.

LIGORANOREESE

Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese collaborate as LigoranoReese. They are Eyebeam alum and were residents in 2008 and 2009.  They worked on their new media art form called The Fiber Optic Tapestry during their Eyebeam residency as well as during their residency at the Montalvo Arts Center.

Their work is an ongoing investigation into the impact of technology on society and the rhetoric of politics and visual culture in the media. They have exhibited at the Biennial of Contemporary Art, Cartegena, Colombia, Catharine Clark Gallery, Kent Fine Art, Portland Art Museum, MIT MediaLab, Museum of Arts & Design, Jim Kempner Fine Art, New York Public Library, and Lincoln Center. They have received funding from the Jerome Foundation, Puffin Foundation, NYFA, NYSCA, NEA, and been in residence at the MacDowell Colony, Montalvo Arts Center, and Djerassi Resident Artists Program. They are represented by Catharine Clark Gallery and Jim Kempner Fine Art. They are exhibiting a new series of artworks at Catharine Clark Gallery from January 27 through March 17, 2018.

TRUTH BE TOLD TEAM

LigoranoReese – Artists, Lisa Guido – Social Media, Diane Bertolo – Lotus + Pixel – Website Designer

Shintaro Okamoto, Thomas Browne  – Okamoto Studio – Ice

SPECIAL THANKS

Lydia Cheney & Jim Sokol, Jim Kempner, Wanda Kownacki, Peter and Beverly Lipman, Michael Mann, Yvonne and Mike Nevins, Sarah and Steve Sorkin, Deborah Wexler

Dru Arstark, Diane Bertolo, Catharine Clark, Nina Colosi, Lisa Guido, Perry Hoberman – School of Cinematic Studies, University of Southern California, Jim Kempner – Jim Kempner Fine Art, Cathy Kimball, Sondra Kitchen, Wanda Kownacki, Todd Lester, David Lopez, JoAnne Northrup, Shintaro Okamoto, Roddy Schrock, Kristin Soderqvist,  Isabel Sullivan, Sally Szwed, Shawn van Sluys – Musagetes Foundation, Maria Venuto – The Standby Program, John Weber – Institute of the Arts and Sciences, UC Santa Cruz

TRUTH BE TOLD streaming partners include:

ArtsEverywhere • Catharine Clark Gallery • Contemporary Art Museum, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida • Eyebeam • Harbourfront Centre • Institute of the Arts and Sciences and the Digital Art/New Media MFA Program of UC Santa Cruz Arts Division • Nevada Museum of Art • San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art • Streaming Museum • Division of Media Arts + Practice, School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California