Please enjoy the complimentary exhibition publication (PDF) located on the right-hand column of this page. 

The University of Maryland Art Gallery is pleased to present Video in The Atrium (ViTA): Cristina Lucas. This new initiative aims to bring art outside the walls of the gallery and activate an underutilized section of the Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building’s large atrium and gathering space. The series showcases video art from the Art Gallery’s own collection and presents new video work from national and international contemporary artists, highlighting the medium’s robust history and its latest directions. Expanding the Art Gallery’s existing footprint, ViTA brings art directly to the many students and visitors who pass through this space, allowing art to be part of their daily lives without even having to step foot into the Art Gallery.

The first in the series will be The People That Is Missing (2019) by Spanish artist Cristina Lucas (b. 1973). This short film was shot while the artist was in residence on Svalbard, a Norwegian island that is one of the northernmost inhabited areas on the planet. The film alternates between sweeping vistas of the region’s natural beauty and its commercial industries such as international shipping ports, mines, and cruise ships. The film’s audio comes from a poem written by the artist that collages phrases borrowed from many notable, and at times conflicting, thinkers on the topic of climate change and environmentalism, such as Bruno Latour, Alexander von Humboldt, and Donald Trump. As it is read, some of the words of the poem become literally etched into the surface of the landscape of Svalbard, revealing the connections between language and environment. The ways in which we as human beings express our relationship to the planet have concrete impacts, visible in the planet’s most vulnerable places such as Svalbard. The end of this poem calls on viewers to recognize the power of language, and, implicitly, art to change the course of environmental collapse and to usher in the “revolution.”

The timeliness of this presentation is significant given that Lucas' work communicates the importance of art as an agent for promoting social change -- a cornerstone of UMD's Arts for All initiative. It also enlists University of Maryland students as “the people that is missing,” a phrase borrowed from early-20th century artist Paul Klee in reference to the audience that artists hope will take up the challenge posed by their work. 

Video in The Atrium: Cristina Lucas is organized by Curatorial Assistant Melanie Woody Nguyen. Major support is provided by the Dorothy and Nicholas Orem Exhibition Fund. Generous support is provided by the Maryland State Arts Council. Additional support is provided by the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain. This exhibition is in association with University of Maryland's Arts for All initiative.

An in-person and socially distant exhibition preview will take place on Thursday, September 8, 5-8pm. This preview is in collaboration with The Clarice's NextNOW Fest 2022. Free admission.

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