Domestic LifeJanuary 16–March 21, 2009

Sun Valley Center for the Arts

Visual artsJulie Blackmon uses members of her extended family and their homes as fodder for her darkly funny photographs that depict what she describes as “the stress, the chaos, and the need to simultaneously escape and con-nect” that characterize everyday domestic life.

Sculptor maría a. lópez creates tiny houses out of cardboard that she covers in vacuum cleaner lint. López paid her way through graduate school by cleaning houses, saving the con-tents of vacuum cleaner bags as she worked. Her pieces cap-ture the disparity between our notion of the ideal home and the “dirty” realities of living in one, including the use of domestic labor to maintain it.

Jim richard, based in New Orleans, makes beautiful oil paintings of over-decorated do-mestic interiors found in the pages of home

lisa solomon uses watercolor, acrylics and embroidery to create delicate domestic scenes. Her images of furniture transcend the decora-

tive and escape the confines of the interior. Birds fly away carrying a chair; green grass sprouts at the foot of one bed while poppies grow across oth-

ers. Her drawings probe traditional ideas of women’s work, the role of nostalgia in our feelings about home and the relationship between the

natural and the domestic worlds.

megan Wilson is creating an installation for the exhibition that explores the many influences that have shaped her idea

of home, including her family’s history in the Ameri-can West and her travels in Asia. The installation will

incorporate textiles, indigenous materials and a sound element with recordings of relatives playing folk

instruments.

decorating magazines.

Void of people, these paintings are richly

textured and patterned at the same time that they are eerie

and cold. Artist martha rosler’s interest in

the home dates to the 1960s when she began to challenge the traditional notion of the home in pho-

tomontages and the landmark video The Semiotics of the Kitchen. Work from her early career will give historical con-

text to other work in the show and also prompt questions about the relationship between feminism and the recent domestic craze.

galleryit’s the First place to Be!Fri, Feb 13 and Fri, Mar 6, 5:30–6:30pmJoin us for wine and hors d’oeuvresOpen for Gallery Walk until 8pm

exhiBition toursEvery Tue at 2pm or by arrangement

specialeVeningexhiBition tourThu, Jan 29, 5:30pm

lectures

moVe Beyond “green” in your home Thu, Jan 22, 7pmThe Center, Ketchum / FreeThe surge of the green building movement war-rants taking a closer look at what green really means. Peggy and Dale Bates will show examples of eco-conscious architecture from around the world and outline the differences between green trends and deep changes.

exploring contemporary Feminism With amy richardsWed, Feb 18, 7pmThe Center Gallery, Ketchum / FreeAmy Richards is the author of Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself, co-founder of the

teen Workshop

introduction to interior designWith aBBey christensen

Sat, Feb 14, 10–4pm / $10 fee, pre-registration requiredThe Center, Hailey

Become an interior designer for a day. You will learn the entire process of an interior design project, from space planning to final drawings and

material selection. Learn how to think of a space in three dimensions and create rooms that meet a client’s specific needs. Redesign an interior space

and create a design mock up.

classes Family daySat, Jan 24, 3-5pmThe CenterKetchumFreeExplore how the home has changed through-out the past 50 years. Using boxes, paper, fabric and other items provided, children will be able to create their own dream liv-ing rooms.

(Be it) eVer eVolVing, there is no place like home with Alex Taylor / Tue, Jan 27, 5:30–7:30pm / The Center, Hailey Do you ever wonder why certain rooms of your home provide comfort while others are left best with the door shut? Explore the relationship you have with your home and understand how decorating choices are reflected in your personal life and the lives of household members. Spend an evening with Alex Taylor, Feng Shui Practitioner and Life Style Coach, discussing our homes with one another while gaining wisdom into the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui.

creating a home For conscious liVingwith Dale & Peggy Bates / Tue, Feb 10, 5:30–7:30pmTwo longtime leaders in the field of healthy architecture will discuss how you can improve the health of your home, from your choice of finishes to energy efficiency.

onenight Work-shops$30 members$35 non-members

Subscriber package:$55 members$65 non-members

at home With gloria steinemWed, Jan 14, 7pm Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum $20 members / $25 non-members A devoted activ-ist and writer, Gloria Steinem is undeniably one of the most im-portant voices of the modern femi-nist movement. She will address how feminism has changed the role of women in the home.

Jim Richard, Modern Circles, 2007, oil on linen, courtesy of the artist and Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans

María A. López, Philadelphian House, 2004, cardboard and dirt, courtesy of the artist

Martha Rosler, Runway, 1967-1972, photomontage, courtesy of the artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York

Julie Blackmon, Birds at Home, 2007, archival pigment print, ed. 25, courtesy of the artist and G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle

Lisa Solomon, Bed Drawing: A Bed In Green Grass, 2007, water-color, acrylic and thread/embroidery on Duralar, courtesy of the artist and Traywick Contemporary, Berkeley

Third Wave Foundation and the person behind “Ask Amy,” an online activist column located at www.feminist.com.

getting green done With auden schendlerThu, Feb 19, 6pmCommunity Library, Ketchum / FreePresented in coordination with The Community Library.

lecture series sponsors: teresa heinz, and richard and Judith smookesteinem lecture sponsors: Jeri l. WaxenBerg, and Jack and gail thornton

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Domestic Life January 16–March 21, 2009Sun Valley Center for the ArtsThe 1990s and early years of the 21st century saw an explosion of interest in the American home. Innumerable magazines, television programs and an ever-grow-ing specialty retail industry sprang up to feed our desire to “nest”—to surround ourselves with beauty and comfort within the intimate yet isolated environment of our homes. The home became not only a refuge, but also a showplace of carefully crafted spaces designed to impress.

What is it about contemporary life that has driven this obsession with our domes-tic spaces? What is behind the desire to have kitchens equipped like restaurants and bathrooms outfitted like hotel suites? Is it an extension of rampant consumer-ism, fed by visions of the ideal portrayed in catalogs? Or an indicator of a deeper anxiety that leads us to seek comforts at home rather than venture out into a risky world? Perhaps this obsession stems from nostalgia for a time when life centered on the home instead of the pressing demands of jobs, school and extracurricular activities. How have the changing roles of women affected the home?

As the financial boom of the 1990s gives way to today’s increasingly bleak econo-my, so-called shelter magazines and retailers are closing their doors in surprising numbers. Has the home décor era come to a close? Or will the idea of homemaking shift to one that emphasizes sustainability, handicraft and interiors that are home-made in the most literal sense?

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Images left:Megan Wilson, Home 1996-2008: Bedroom (2007, detail), courtesy of the artist and Traywick Contemporary, Berkeley

Megan Wilson, Home 1996-2008: Hallway (2006, detail), courtesy of the artist and Traywick Contemporary, Berkeley

Megan Wilson, Night Bloom (detail of installation), 2006,courtesy of the artist and Traywick Contemporary, Berkeley

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DoMESTiC LiFE is made possiBle, in part, through the generosity oF Jack and gail thornton