Indianapolis Museum of Art Presents ' Will Boys Be Boys? '

Written by Victoria Haviland Monday, 11 July 2011 22:11

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Youth and adolescence have long been an obsession in American culture.  While much attention has been paid to issues related to female adolescence in recent contemporary art, as well as in the media and entertainment industries, male adolescence has received comparatively little attention.  IMA Indianapolis Museum of Art will present Will Boys Be Boys?  Questioning Adolescent Masculinity in Contemporary Art starting Oct. 20, 2006.  The exhibition is the first museum survey of male adolescence.

Will Boys Be Boys? is part of Forefront, an ongoing series of exhibitions that presents recent work by international artists and offers a changing view of major developments in the art world.  The 2006 Forefront series is sponsored by Carrier Corporation.  Will Boys Be Boys? Questioning Adolescent Masculinity in Contemporary Art is a traveling exhibition organized and circulated by Independent Curators International (iCI), New York.  The exhibition was curated by Shamim M. Momin.  The exhibition, tour and brochure are made possible, in part, by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.

Will Boys Be Boys? examines the nature of adolescent masculinity in recent contemporary art, bringing together more than 40 works by 19 recognized contemporary artists or artist teams.  Featured pieces range from paintings, photographs and sculptures, to installations and video works.  The exhibition explores the constructs of “boyness” as a social identity defined in terms of physical appearance, gender-specific pastimes, behavior and “toys.”

“The exhibition assembles a diversity of artworks focused on themes of youth and male-gender identity,” said Rebecca Uchill, assistant curator of contemporary art at IMA.  “You’ll see art that refers to sports, cars, cheap beer, rock music and lust.”

Will Boys Be Boys? concentrates on three themes. Some works address the rituals and activities of males and include the photo realist watercolors of Tim Gardner, portraits of young athletes by Collier Schorr, as well as video and photography documenting punk rock mosh pits by Janine Gordon and teen amateur wrestling by the West Coast duo Matthew Luem and Greg Fiering.

The theme of male adolescent “images” is explored in a number of works that concentrate on physical appearances.  Nikki S. Lee photographs herself bedecked with skater fashions, and Dean Sameshima presents photographs of young male physiques.  The exhibition also will include the work of prominent photographer Larry Clark, including selected photos from his 1993 book, Perfect Childhood, and an endlessly looped video of a young wrestler describing his passion for the sport to a talk show commentator.

The third major theme of the exhibition concentrates on artists who explore symbols and objects with which adolescent males associate themselves.  A fascination with automobiles, rock ‘n’ roll music or pin-up magazines is evoked by the abstract sculpture of Luis Gispert and in the multimedia work of Jeff Reed.

The exhibition is on view at IMA through January 14, 2007.  IMA will present two events in conjunction with the exhibition. On Oct. 19, in celebration of the opening, artist Anthony Goicolea will join Type A, a two-man collective of artists Adam Ames and Andrew Bordwin, for a discussion about their work.

IMA Information

Situated on 152 acres of gardens and grounds, IMA connects visitors to its unique and expansive view of art with its Indianapolis Museum of Art, the future Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park and Oldfields–Lilly House & Gardens.  The Indianapolis Museum of Art is among the largest general art museums in the United States and features significant collections of African, American, Asian, European, contemporary and decorative art, including paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings and photographs, textiles and costumes.

Visit www.ima-art.org.