Preview
Image Date
10-26-2020
Description
Anchor 2014-15 Cast Aluminum 13" x 10" x 3"
Exhibit Date
October 26 - December 1, 2020
Exhibit Description
Ian Weaver utilizes a variety of media to act as metaphors for “fracture”. Weaver is interested in how we – as individuals and communities – construct our own identities and memories from the fractured, disparate elements of our lives. Such identities are constructed through commemorations and the objects we construct and archive. The work included in this exhibition centers on the Near West Side of Chicago: a large multi-ethnic community, and, specifically, the "Black Bottom" section of the Near West Side where black residents once lived. The various parts of the Near West Side and the Bottom were destroyed to construct an expressway and a university in the mid-1960’s. As a result, the community lost much of its history. Weaver has constructed a fictional history for this community utilizing a variety of handmade faux elements that allude to preservation and material culture such as museum vitrines, maps and documents of the community, various sculptures, and textiles. Recently, Weaver has extended this construction to the creation of a fictional group, the Black Knights – inspired in part by his interest in both medieval heraldry and black activism – who have, ostensibly, lived within the “Black Bottom” community, circa 1940s. Weaver has developed lore for the Black Knights who have used political, social, and guerrilla tactics to fight for the survival of the community. Viewers are invited to engage with this fictional narrative through the objects that Weaver has constructed in a way that encourages us to consider the value of history. How might these fragmented parts add to a whole understanding of a cultural experience? How do objects play a role in building and sustaining cultural and socio-political power? Listen to Ian Weaver’s talk that will be available on our site beginning November 2, 2020. Ian Weaver is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Saint Mary's College, South Bend, IN. His M.F.A. (Visual Art) is from Washington University in St Louis. His exhibitions include a survey of work at the South Bend Museum of Art, as well as solo exhibitions at The Chicago Cultural Center, the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, and Saint Louis Art Museum.
Recommended Citation
Weaver, Ian, "Ian Weaver - The Black Knight Archive: Migration" (2020). All Past Exhibitions. 38, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/peeler_exhibit/38
Medium
Anchor 2014-15 Cast Aluminum 13" x 10" x 3"