Wunderground

Providence 1995 to Present

September 15, 2006 - January 7, 2007

Introduction

The two-part exhibition "Wunderground: Providence, 1995 to the Present was conceived by eight artists from Providence's thriving art and music scene, at the invitation of the Museum. The Shangri-la-la-land installation in this gallery evolved from the idea of a utopian village. Each artist created new work specifically for the Museum's soaring Main Gallery, a space that traditionally displays 19th-century art. "Wunderground" continued in the adjoining Granoff Galleries with Providence Poster Art: 1995-2005*, representing the work of more than 200 artists.

VENUES

468 Wickenden Street | Win | WYGIWYG

BANDS

LENDERS

PROVIDENCE POSTER ART, 1995-2005

The community of Olneyville on Providence's West Side, with its historic mill buildings, has become the center of a dynamic, freewheeling art and music scene. In the 90s, young artists took advantage of cheap rents and large loft spaces in this down-at-the-heels neighborhood to experiment with all types of media, including film and video, sculpture, printmaking, puppet theater, comic 'zines, and "noise" music, for which Providence has become well known. Particularly notable is the wealth of screenprinted posters produced over the past decade in conjunction with rock shows, exhibitions, performances, and community events of all kinds. Displayed here are more than 2,000 posters by some 200 artists. Our goal has been to bring together every poster made from 1995 through 2005 by local artists for local events. They have been borrowed from 37 individuals, including some artists, who have collected them over the years, sometimes removing them from walls, storefront windows, telephone poles, kiosks, and other such sites. Most are handmade screenprints, but there are also photocopies, laser prints, and one-of-a-kinds. Overlapping patterns; transparent, metallic, and iridescent inks and paints; fabrics; a variety of papers; and fonts invented by the artists are distinguishing characteristics.

Traditional printmaking practices are often subverted.

The majority of posters are grouped according to the venues (over 200) where the advertised events took place. These groupings and the posters within them are organized chronologically, as much as possible, and arranged clockwise in these three galleries. Double-sided handbills, cards, duplicate posters, and overflow fill several cases. A few venues existed for only one show, but many - Fort Thunder, Rogue/Renegade, Box of Knives, and Pink Rabbit, for example - survived for several years, and some are ongoing. Listening stations provide segments of live rock shows recorded at a number of these venues. In view of burgeoning commercial and residential real estate development, Providence's West Side is currently in transition. This seems a particularly appropriate time to present the achievements of its under-the-radar, do-it-yourself community of artists through their unfettered, ongoing poster activity.

Judith Tannenbaum, Maya Allison

Wunderground

Introduction

Exhibition images

Projects & Publications

Wunderground

Introduction

Exhibition images

Projects & Publications

Publications

Wunderground: Providence, 1995 to Present