'In the woods, we return to reason and
faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace,
no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing
on the bare ground, - my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted
into infinite space, - all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent
eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal
Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.' Ralph
Waldo Emerson, Nature (1836)
At a time when America was riven by deep conflicts about Native
American genocide, slavery and religious fundamentalism, Ralph Waldo
Emerson and the New England Transcendentalists sought to establish
a distinct, new cultural identity - fusing a questioning of religion
and politics with a respect for nature and the individual spirit.
It was a pivotal moment: for the first time it became possible to
talk about a uniquely (non-Native) American culture. Yet the pacifist
politics and Pantheism of the Transcendentalists quickly receded
as the fledgling nation was hijacked by an upsurge of nationalism
and expansionism. Over the past 150 years, American culture has
taken this nationalist enthusiasm to an new extreme, breeding a
society so infatuated with images of itself, it can barely acknowledge
the existence of a world outside.
Today the US is again in the midst of a cultural and political
identity crisis, recognized across the world as first and foremost
the home of powerful business brands. In response to this White
Diamond Projects in association with afoundation and FACT present
'The Transparent Eyeball', a programme that brings together American
artists and curators too reflect on the role that Transcendentalist
ideals of skepticism, romanticism, and individualism now play in
American life.
The project has three distinct (though related) parts: an exhibition
featuring the work of Ara Peterson, Cory Arcangel, Skytimelapse,
Amy Globus, Meredith Danluck and Peter Coffin, a performance by
artist groups Paper Rad and Beige, a film screening programme at
FACT and a special edition of the Black Diamond magazine designed
to place the project within a wider cultural and historical context.
Exhibition:
Saturday 18 Sept - Friday 22 October
open Tuesday to Friday 12 - 5pm
55 New Bird St
Performance
Paperrad/Beige Friday 17th and Saturday 18th September
9pm till late
55 New Bird St
Screenings
Saturday 18 September and Sunday 19 September
11.15am, 1pm, 4.30pm, 6.30pm (admission £2)
FACT, 88 Wood St
Black Diamond
Magazine Launch Saturday 2nd October
55 New Bird St
Available at all venues throughout the Biennial
|
independent
dist 
georgian
quarter 
city
central 
docklands
artists
