FACE VALUES, a participatory art event organized by MCB in collaboration with Corcoran College of Art students from his
“Art as Social Practice” course, opens Saturday, May 11 at
STUDIO 1469. Students photographed random people in urban environments and at the event the participant subjects and the public may post comments on the photographs and what they suggest or reveal about the person. The event seeks to initiate conversations about social identity, stereotypes, the way we present ourselves and how others see us.
From the event announcement:
"In a project working within
the public sphere, we seek to convey a message of acceptance, not tolerance. In
an exhibition from the students of the Corcoran College of Art + Design's “Art as Social Practice” course, they
shall embark on a quest of neglected importance to the people of Washington,
D.C., but also to the world at large. Tendencies to judge others based on color
of skin, amount of tattoos or piercings, age, sex, sexual orientation and
gender has become so ingrained into our everyday lives that we make assumptions
without thinking critically about ourselves and the others with whom we interact.
Through this project we seek
to challenge the notions of stereotypes juxtaposed against the actuality of who
people really are versus who we assume them to be. For the duration of one
week, students will set out to take photographs of willing participants that
will be exhibited at STUDIO 1469. on Saturday, May 11. At the opening
of the exhibit there will be opportunities for the photographed participants
and others to use Post-It Notes to write down what characteristics are revealed
about the participants in the photographs. Whether good or bad, all comments will
be posted alongside the photos so that conversations may begin in an open, and
welcoming atmosphere to potentially start a discourse on race, body modification,
age, sex, sexual orientation and gender, and about how we display ourselves,
and how others perceive us. It will also speak to the fact that although we are
all equal, we do all have differences that are of little consequence. Our goal is
to spread awareness of the equality of all people, and thus create a sense of
community within the Washington, D.C. public sphere."
