"Big Trouble" at the Boise Art Museum

Saturday, 27 January 2007 11:22

BOISE, ID – Boise Art Museum presents Big Trouble: The Idaho Project, February 10 – April 15, 2007.  This art exhibition borrows its title from Anthony Lukas’ book Big Trouble, an extensive study of the complex legal drama that unfolded following the 1905 assassination of Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg over 100 years ago.

The installation, created by artist Scott Fife, revisits this historical event through a series of sculptural portraits made of sliced and layered archival cardboard.  The cast of characters includes “Big Bill” Haywood, leader of the mineworkers’ union – accused of ordering the assassination; Harry Orchard, the “hired gun;” famed defense attorney Clarence Darrow; socialist Eugene Debs; and U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.  Additionally, Shapers of the 20^th Century will be on view, comprising 23 new sculptures and drawings by Fife.  Each piece depicts a political or social celebrity such as Marilyn Monroe, Fidel Castro, Lionel Hampton, and Pablo Picasso.

Scott Fife: The Idaho Project is supported in part through a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts, made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces program.

Boise Art Museum is located downtown in Julia Davis Park. Boise Art Museum is supported, in part, by its members, the Beaux Arts Société, the City of Boise, the Idaho Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. BAM is accredited by the American Association of Museums.  Visit : www.boiseartmuseum.org