ATLAS Assistant Professor Joel Swanson鈥檚 newest solo art exhibition听Sticks & Stones听is an exploration of the divisive language dominating contemporary political discourse. Rendering decontextualized words and phrases in听photos, neon sculptures, mixed media works and animations, Swanson makes provocative and surprising art from language that is so often used to classify and marginalize.听听
The show, which opens Friday, Aug.18, at Denver鈥檚听, runs through Sept. 16. One image features an impression of a found soda cup lid with various labeled buttons used to indicate what鈥檚 inside, such as 鈥渃ola,鈥� 鈥渄iet鈥� and 鈥渙ther.鈥� 听In Swanson鈥檚 image, the 鈥渙ther鈥� button is indented.
鈥淚鈥檓 interested in how we mark otherness in society,鈥� Swanson said of his unnamed piece. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a soda lid, but it makes me think of the ways that otherness is constructed and how certain people and identities are marginalized.鈥�
Swanson鈥檚 art has appeared听at venues such as the Broad Museum in Lansing, The Power Plant in Toronto, the North Miami Museum of Contemporary Art and听Denver鈥檚 Museum of Contemporary Art, where he held a solo exhibition. His work is currently part of听Personal Structures, an official satellite show of Italy鈥檚 world-renowned Venice Biennale 2017.
A busy year for Swanson, his next solo show听Marginalia听is an exploration of linguistic interfaces such as books, paper and computer screens. It opens Dec. 8 at the Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder. And he will be showing听Zapf Dingbats Revolved Around Their Y Axis听as part of the CU Boulder听听at the CU Art Museum, running Aug. 17 to Dec. 23.
Swanson鈥檚 commissioned work is found throughout Denver, including听a wall-sized installation at the Halcyon Hotel in Cherry Creek; a work in Twitter鈥檚 corporate office; and a collection of works at the new听听in Denver, including various smaller works in guest rooms and suites, four larger works and a 30-foot, backlit, laser-cut aluminum wall at the entryway.听All the Born Hotel鈥檚 artwork was commissioned from local artists and curated by Adam Lerner of the听.
At CU Boulder, Swanson teaches courses on digital art, typography and media theory through the ATLAS Institute. He received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of California San Diego, where his focus was computing and the arts. He earned his听Bachelor of Fine Arts in digital art from CU Boulder.
In all his work, Swanson explores the structures and technologies of language, and his work ranges from digital art and sculpture to interactive installations that playfully and powerfully merge words with meanings.
Watch a short video about Swanson's installation at the Hotel Born
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