Does

DNA

DefineYou?

Sun Valley Centerfor the artS P o Box 656 Sun Valley, ID 83353

non-ProfIt orGanIZatIon

u S PoStaGe

PaIDBoISe ID

PerMIt no. 679

Mining Identity: Works by

Eve-Marie BergrenAugust 29 – November 7, 2008

The Center, Hailey

Boise-based artist eve-Marie Bergren has

produced a series of portraits of individuals

based on their fingerprints. The paintings’

swirling lines create lyrical abstract patterns at

the same time that they signify our uniqueness

as individual human beings. the Center, hailey,

will feature an installation of a large selection

of these portraits.

Exhibition CelebrationThe Center, Hailey

Fri, Sep 12, 5:30–7pm

Join us for drinks and appetizers. eve-Marie

Bergren will be present to discuss her work.

Does DNADefine You?

August 22 – October 31, 2008

Sun Valley Center for the Arts

how much does who our parents are determine

who we become? Does our Dna contain

clues not only to our hair color but also to

our personality? to the kinds of preferences,

desires and goals that will guide us through

life? the last half-century has seen an

explosion in our knowledge of Dna, from

its discovery in the 1950s to the completion

of the human Genome Project in 2003. the

more information we gain about genetics,

the more questions we seem to have about

the connection between our biology and our

identity. terms that once seemed the stuff

of science fiction, like “designer babies”

and “genetic engineering,” have become

part of our everyday language and have

triggered a series of new ethical dilemmas

regarding the degree to which we should be

reconfiguring the fundamental building blocks

of life. this multidisciplinary project explores

these questions through lectures, films, art

exhibitions and classes.

Eve-Marie Bergren, Mining Identity: Finola, 2005, courtesy of the artist

Eugenics Tree, ca. 1925, Eugenics Record Office Records, American Philosophical Society

Visual arts

Does DNA Define You? presents artwork from

the 18th century to the present that illustrates

the historic shifts in the way artists have

conceptualized the relationship between identity

and biology.

In the 18th century, Mexican artists

produced an entirely new genre of artwork,

known as casta [caste] painting. Made in

series, these paintings showed the results of

racial intermixing in the americas, with each

painting depicting a basic biological family unit

(a man, a woman and a child) of different racial

backgrounds. Casta paintings conveyed racial

and social theories of the time. the exhibition

features reproductions of original casta

paintings.

early 20th-century artists depicted a

later phase in racial and biological theory in

illustrations that popularized the ideas behind

eugenics, which promised the improvement of

the human race through selective reproduction

or "the self direction of human evolution."

the exhibition includes a selection of these

illustrations as well as photographs from the

“Fitter Families” contests held in the 1920s and

1930s.

the relationship between identity and

biology has been a source of creativity for

contemporary artists as well.

Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle's The Garden

of Delights series consists of portraits of

individuals based on their Dna charts and poses

the question of whether our Dna is who we are.

Similarly, Dennis Ashbaugh has created

a series of Dna portraits based on individual

genetic fingerprints. Unlike Manglano-Ovalle,

who produces prints of actual Dna charts,

ashbaugh uses digital images of Dna as the

basis for large-scale oil paintings and prints that

engage the history of abstract and color-field

painting.

artist Rebecca Howland has created a

series of drawings that gently and humorously

probe the complicated issues of genomics,

cloning and reproductive biotechnology.

howland injects personal, spiritual and ethical

questions into the scientific world of genetics.

Jaq Chartier’s luminescent paintings

result from the chemical reactions between the

layers of spray paint and acrylic that she applies

to each canvas. her process—a metaphor

for genetic testing—produces a result similar

to that of Dna gel electrophoresis, in which

an electric current is passed through gel to

separate Dna strands. the handwritten notes

she leaves visible in the margins are evidence

of the scientific approach she takes to art and

the blurring of art and science in her work.

Ketchum:M-f 9am-5pm,

Sat in aug 11am-5pmexhibition tours: tue at 2pm

191 fifth Street east, Ketchum, Idaho

hailey:W-f noon-5pm

314 Second ave. S, hailey, Idaho

Sun Valley Center for the artsP.o. Box 656, Sun Valley, ID 83353

208.726.9491www.sunvalleycenter.org

It’s the First Place to Be!Fri, Aug 29 and Fri, Oct 10, 5:30–6:30pm

Join us for wine and hors d’oeuvres.

open for Gallery Walk until 8pm

Exhibition Tours, every Tue at 2pm

Special Evening Gallery TourThu, Sep 4, 5:30pm

lectures & films

African American Lives DocumentaryTue, Oct 7 and 14, 6pm

The Center, Ketchum

Free

this groundbreaking PBS documentary, hosted

by Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., profiles some of

the most accomplished african americans of

our time using genealogy and Dna to trace

their roots down through american history and

back to africa. this combination of science

and storytelling explores the quintessential

questions of heritage and the importance of

knowing our past.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.Thu, Oct 16, 7pm

nexStage Theatre, Ketchum

$15 members/$20 nonmembers

henry louis Gates Jr. is the alphonse fletcher

university Professor at harvard university,

as well as director of the W.e.B. Du Bois

Institute for african and african american

research. Professor Gates is a widely published

author and editor of such publications as

The Encyclopedia of the African and African

American Experience and Wonders of the

African World. he has received nearly 50

honorary degrees, as well as a Macarthur

foundation fellowship and inclusion in Time

magazine’s list of the “25 Most Influential

Americans.”

The Center’s 2008/2009 Lecture Series is

made possible, in part, through the generosity

of Richard and Judith Smooke.

Born into Brothelswith Director and ProducerRoss KauffmanWed, Sep 10, 7pm

Sun Valley Opera House

$10 members/$15 nonmembers

Winner of the 2005 academy award for Best

Documentary, Born into Brothels introduces us

to the children of prostitutes in Calcutta. Zana

Briski, a new york-based photographer, gives

each of the children a camera and teaches

them to look at the world with new eyes. the

film traces their lives and their attempts to

escape their world through photography, in

the process bringing up questions how the

children’s caste and heritage locks them into a

way of life.

Director, producer and cinematographer

ross Kaufman will be on hand to talk about the

making of the film, update what has happened

to the children and answer questions. Born

into Brothels has received over 40 awards,

including the national Board of review Best

Documentary 2004 and the 2004 Sundance

film festival audience award.

Lecture: Casta Painting: Race, Class and Sex in 18th-century Mexicoby Courtney GilbertTue, Oct 2, 7pm

The Center, Ketchum

Free

Depicting the results of racial mixing

in the americas, 18th-century casta

paintings presented a man and a

woman of different racial groups

with their offspring, who were

assigned a third racial category. the

racial labels used in the paintings

paralleled a complex caste system

that the Spanish empire tried to

implement to maintain control over

its colonies. this slide lecture will

explore the intersection of race,

class and sexual mores within these

canvases. Courtney Gilbert, the

Center’s Curator of Visual Arts,

earned a Ph.D. at the university of

Chicago, where she studied modern

european and latin american art

history.

Family Day Sun, Oct 5, 3–5pm

The Center, Hailey

Free

Come with your kids to explore infinite

combinations. Genetically engineer your own

hybrid sculpture.

MAILER:Buenaventura José Guiol, De español e india nace

mestiza, ca. 1770-80, private collection, courtesy of the National Hispanic Cultural Center;

Jaq Chartier, Color Chart (May), 2008,courtesy of Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland;

Buenaventura José Guiol, De español y castiza nace española, ca. 1770-80, private collection,

courtesy of the National Hispanic Cultural Center;COVER:

Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Carter, Anna, and Daryl from The Garden of Delights, 1998, courtesy of the artist

and Max Protetch Gallery, New York

Rebecca Howland, Same Apartment, Different Tenant, 1999-2000, courtesy of the artist

Dennis Ashbaugh, Untitled (Gray) from the Genetic Portraits series, 1992, courtesy of the artist and Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, New Hampshire

Miguel Cabrera, De español y torna atrás, tenteen el aire, 1763, private collection,

courtesy of the National Hispanic Cultural Center

Printed on recycled paper, 50/25% post consumer waste.