Objects and Power
Stephanie Syjuco, Block Out the Sun, 2021.
Events
Opening
Opening Reception: Objects and Power
5:00 – 8:00 PMICA at MECA&D
Visiting Artist Talk
Visiting Artist Talk: Samuel Levi Jones
12:00 – 1:00 PMOsher Hall, MECA&D Campus
Conversation
“Objects & Indigeneity” student-led conversation with Casey Matȟó
3:00 – 4:00 PMICA at MECA&D
MECA&D Student Exhibition
ReadyReMade
Maine College of Art & Design
Conversation
"Trans Objects and Representation” student-led conversation with Lyra Miller
3:00 – 4:00 PMICA at MECA&D
Reading Guide
Objects and Power Reading Guide
Maine College of Art & Design
About the exhibition
Objects and Power is a group exhibition that examines the systems surrounding collections, investigating how history is told through the processes of acquiring and presenting art, artifacts, and texts. Objects and Power features ten artists whose work examines the roots of collecting and museums; instances of extraction, theft, and erasure; themes of Indigeneity, access, and ownership; and examples of artists and community groups telling stories and giving value to objects on their own terms.
Exhibiting Artists: Morehshin Allahyari, Maya Tihtiyas Attean (member of the Penobscot Nation), Samuel Levi Jones, SaraNoa Mark, Nyeema Morgan, Gala Porras-Kim, Michael Rakowitz, Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos), Stephanie Syjuco, William Villalongo
Objects and Power was developed to serve as a living laboratory, with themes woven throughout the curriculum at Maine College of Art & Design. The work featured in the exhibition opens up a series of conversations about the role and responsibilities of institutional collections. Objects and Power challenges audiences to question one’s role in the process of making and invites agency in navigating art world systems.
Generous support for the exhibition was provided through the Jeremy Moser and Laura Kittle Fund.
Press
Publications
Gallery
Gala Porras-Kim, Leaving the institution through cremation is easier than as a result of a deaccession policy, 2021.Photography by Joel Tsui.
Gala Porras-Kim, Leaving the institution through cremation is easier than as a result of a deaccession policy, 2021.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Gala Porras-Kim, Leaving the institution through cremation is easier than as a result of a deaccession policy, 2021.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Maya Tihtiyas Attean (member of the Penobscot Nation), Mikwidahamin/Portal, 2024.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Maya Tihtiyas Attean (member of the Penobscot Nation), Mikwidahamin/Portal, 2024.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Maya Tihtiyas Attean (member of the Penobscot Nation), Mikwidahamin/Portal, 2024.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Maya Tihtiyas Attean (member of the Penobscot Nation), Mikwidahamin/Portal, 2024.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Maya Tihtiyas Attean (member of the Penobscot Nation), Mikwidahamin/Portal, 2024.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Maya Tihtiyas Attean (member of the Penobscot Nation), Mikwidahamin/Portal, 2024.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Michael Rakowitz, May the obdurate foe not be in good health (Palmyrene funerary bust), 2020.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Michael Rakowitz, The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist, 2022.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Morehshin Allahyari, ماه طلعت Moon-faced, 2022.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Morehshin Allahyari, ماه طلعت Moon-faced, 2022.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Nyeema Morgan, Soft Power. Hard Margins., 2020.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Samuel Levi Jones, The Library of Alexandria, 2023.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos), this clam basket stops pipelines, 2022. darth, 2023. patent-leather, 2023.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos), this clam basket stops pipelines, 2022.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
SaraNoa Mark, Guarding Invisibility, 2019.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
SaraNoa Mark, Guarding Invisibility, 2019.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
SaraNoa Mark, Guarding Invisibility, 2019. Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Stephanie Syjuco, Block Out the Sun, 2021.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Objects and Power installation view with work by SaraNoa Mark, Samuel Levi Jones, Nyeema Morgan, and Michael Rakowitz.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Objects and Power installation view with work by Samuel Levi Jones and Gala Porras-Kim.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D
Objects and Power installation view with work by Samuel Levi Jones, Nyeema Morgan, and Michael Rakowitz.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Objects and Power installation view with work by Michael Rakowitz and William Villalongo.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Objects and Power installation view with work by William Villalongo, Michael Rakowitz, and Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos).Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Objects and Power installation view with work by Nyeema Morgan, Michael Rakowitz, and SaraNoa Mark. Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
Objects and Power installation view with work by Michael Rakowitz and William Villalongo. Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.
William Villalongo, A Dance for Dave, 2023.Photography by Joel Tsui. Courtesy of the ICA at MECA&D.