MIDDLE SCHOOL: SMART ART PRESS, SEPTEMBER 19 - OCTOBER 24, 2007 CONTACT: CINDY OJEDA - 310.264.4678 Santa Monica, September 4, 2007—Track 16 Gallery is pleased to present, “MIDDLE SCHOOL: SMART ART PRESS, THE FIRST THIRTEEN YEARS.” Since its inception in 1994, Track 16 Gallery’s publishing arm, Smart Art Press has published over 150 exhibition catalogues, artists’ books, ephemera, multiples, videos, films, and novels ranging in items from a limited edition Frozen Walt Doll by Burt Payne 3 and (Sponge Bob Squarepants creator) Steve Hillenberg, to a limited edition tea towel commemorating the 2007 exhibition by Argentinean collective, Mondongo. This exhibition traces the history of these publications, and will be on view from middle of the week, Wednesday, September 19 (around Yom Kippur) through October 24, 2007. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 AM to 6 PM. Smart Art Press is taking this opportunity to announce the release of future publications. In addition to the re-release of Jim Shaw’s “Dreams,” and the third edition, and 30-year anniversary of Jeffrey Vallance’s “Blinky, the Friendly Hen,” we are pleased to release a book by RCK Ginn with illustrations by son, Raymond Pettibon. These publications will be released in 2008. Ginn’s mid 1970s novel is a noir genre cold war mystery about a young southern Californian English professor who ends up in a whirlwind of intrigue across Europe. The limited edition book will be hard cover, with dust jacket, dims. 5 3/4 x 8 1/4 in., with approx. 200 pages. It will feature 30 to 40 illustrations by Raymond Pettibon. Release date will be early 2008, and price is to be determined. Pre-orders will be taken immediately for these future publications. Books, multiples, and objects will be on display, as well as a projection of “Fresh Acconci” by artists Paul McCarthy and Mike Kelley that re-stages classic 1970s performance pieces by Vito Acconci, with a decidedly ironic Southern California sensibility. States McCarthy: “[The piece] is a reference to art now, to a resurgence of the 1970s and an interest in youth in the art world. Also screened will be Smart Art Press’s Manuel Ocampo biopic, “God is my Co-Pilot, Sandow Birk’s California civil war mockumentary “In Smog and Thunder: The Great War of the Californias,” Paul McCarthy’s “Painter,” and the never released L.A. punk rock documentary hosted by Exene Cervenka “Forming: The Motion Picture.” This exhibition presents a unique and excellent opportunity to view Smart Art Press’s rare and out-of-print books. A slide presentation of the drawings featured in out-of-print Jim Shaw: Dreams will also be shown. In Dreams, a monumental compendium of painstaking pencil drawings that bring his nocturnal dream world to life, the artist unflinchingly reveals his innermost fears, obsessions, and sexual fantasies. A diary-like picture book, Dreams is an in-depth look at one of the most important facets of this seminal artist’s work. Smart Art Press will also present the first series from its spawn, White Wine Press, edited by Kevin Power. White Wine Press is a collection of individual books by artists writing on subjects other than their art. Authors include Thomas Lawson, Jonathan Lasker, Santiago Bose, José Alejandro Restrepo, and Ernesto Pujol. The second set of five essays are to be published in November, 2007, with essays by Art & Language, Yishai Jusidman, Ana Tiscornia, Serkan Özkaya, and Hélio Oiticica. Upcoming exhibitions: The annual performance art extravaganza curated by Deborah Oliver: IRRATIONAL EXHIBITS 6, a one-night-only experience of simultaneous performance installations in Track 16 Gallery’s exhibition spaces on the evening of Saturday, November 3, 2007. Admission price TBA, reservations will be required. November 17 - December 15: LOS ANGELES: PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANN SUMMA, curated by Kristine McKenna showcases Summa’s previously unpublished photographs taken during the punk era in L.A. between 1978 and 1984. Summa captured some of the best known bands to emerge from L.A. while they were still in their infancy--X and Black Flag, among others--and bands who went on to achieve legendary status despite the brevity of their existence, including the Germs and the Screamers. For more information please visit our website at archive.track16.com, or www.smartartpress.com. |