Optimism – About the Exhibition
Westport Arts Center
26 September – 30 November 2008
Optimism is an exhibition that brings together recent artworks that explore the dreams and realities of making progress and changing the world.
In one sense, optimism means believing that the glass is already full, and that this is the best of all possible worlds. This idea can be dangerous in today’s world, in a time of financial crisis, climate change, and open-ended armed conflict. This exhibition explores a different sense of the word optimism: the belief that better outcomes can be achieved in the future. The glass is not yet half-full, but it will be, once the wine is poured.
Being optimistic, then, requires one not only to acknowledge the problems of the present, but also to believe that they can be addressed and that change can happen.
This exhibition explores the idea of working for a better world through seven recent artworks, each of which exemplifies a possible response to a particular problem or obstacle. The subjects and participants in the works face problems that vary widely: the threat of nuclear war, noisy barking dogs, homelessness, local fire codes. Their responses are equally diverse; some are inspiring and others deeply flawed. The images and situations offered here do not pretend to be magical, catch-all solutions. Instead, they offer an opportunity to reflect on our own approaches to the problems we face, large or small, encouraging us to struggle and persist in the face of long odds, and to dare disturb the universe.
See more information about the artists and works in the show: Becca Albee, Ghana Thinktank Collaborative (John Ewing, Matey Odonkor & Christopher Robbins), Matt Keegan, Zoe Leonard, Tara Mateik, Walid Raad, Paul Shambroom.