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Montserrat Gallery to House Major Examination by Artists and Historians of the Effects of War and Conflict

Montserrat College of Art Gallery presents the exhibition "For The Record: Searching For Objectivity In Global Conflict" accompanied by a two-day symposium, http://www.montserrat.edu/news/, curated by Montserrat Faculty Rob Roy and Gordon Arnold, organized in collaboration with Gallery Director and Curator Leonie Bradbury.

Exhibition "For The Record: Searching For Objectivity In Global Conflict" will be on view Aug. 22-Oct. 22, 2011, at the Montserrat Gallery, 23 Essex St. Beverly, MA. Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 10-5, Thu 10-8, Sat 12-5. Opening reception on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011, 5-8 pm, Montserrat Gallery, 23 Essex St. Beverly, MA, 1st floor. Visit http://www.montserrat.edu/news/ for complete details.

The exhibit coincides with the 10th anniversary of the September 11 bombings of the World Trade Center, and although not focused on any singular event, the topics included in the show are meant to provoke intellectual curiosity about how Americans view and understand conflicts both at home and abroad.

The artists in "For The Record" offer a testament of the effects of war and conflict on people, societies and the physical earth, namely, "How can a narrative concerning world economic, political, and militant distress speak objectively, weighing a causal justice systematically on all events?"

This is the dialogue between social historian Gordon Arnold and painter Rob Roy that has taken place for more than 20 years. "For The Record" shifts their theoretical discussion into a pragmatic exhibition exploring the multi-faceted perspectives of global conflict and its representation in contemporary artistic practice.

Bradbury explained, "Bombarded by information from a variety of sources, it is often difficult as observers of current affairs to fully make sense of the concepts and facts presented. Artists offer us the opportunity to engage and interpret this information in an alternative way. They were the first compelled to record and present the events of the world. Artists illustrate and record many aspects of war in a variety of ways, whether through genuine factual representation through war reportage drawing and/or documentary work (witness accounts of war) or as artistic interpretation (visual response to war)."

A two-day symposium on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 will accompany this exhibit featuring keynote speaker: American curator, academic, critic, and painter Robert Storr, Dean of the Yale University School of Art. Others include veterans and artists, including North Shore Community College President Wayne Burton, documentary photographer Nina Berman, Carnegie Mellon artist and Professor Susanne Slavick and others.

About Montserrat College of Art

Montserrat College of Art is a small, private, residential college of visual art and design, founded in 1970, by artists, for artists, educating the creative problem solvers of tomorrow. The college offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, continuing education classes for youth, teen and adults, and three galleries exhibiting works by international, national and regional contemporary artists, intended to offer art education beyond the Montserrat classrooms through a series of public lectures, gallery talks, catalogs and events. Visit us at www.montserrat.edu for more details and What You Can Do With an Art Degree.