Contributing Artists

Kathryn T. Fimreite, Karina Longworth, Janice Inskeep, Michael Andrews, Matthew Wagner, Keli Lemoi, Nicole-Yvonne Olsdal, Tricia Juettemeyer

Exhibition Statement as Preserved in the SUGS/SITE Archives:

Intimate Sacrifice/ You know you want it is a juried exhibition that deals with the issues of the gallery system, the viewer in a non-traditional context/role, and the role of exhibiting artists. The exhibition transforms the gallery into a perverse setting by altering the gallery into a dark, sparse, stereotypical peep show, including private key operated viewing rooms, and a table full of custom made “reading materials.” Why a setting like this? It is a metaphor of the artist-as-prostitute, the gallery-as-pimp, and the viewer-as-seedy voyeur. In this view, an artist exhibiting work in the gallery is sort of a prostitute in the way that he/she is baring their soul, and their selves for the public gaze. Be it for thrills, kicks, or jollies, that’s what we are trying to say. The exhibiting artists are showing small intimate works inside small key operated viewing boxes. The selected artists were not limited in their media, but only by the size of their box. The viewer will view any or all of the works by going alone into a small booth containing the artwork, which will then light the box for viewing. This is where the artwork becomes pornographic, not in context; the viewer’s scrutinizing gaze looking at the artist’s work and the artist at the same time, looking to gain some pleasure on the artist’s behalf. The viewer also sacrifices their regular anonymity in a gallery setting. The different booths with the different works of different mediums are symbols of different fetishes, by choosing one of them the viewer is admitting or publicly announcing some sort of eprsonal statement, which has never been required of them before.