Oliver Herring's TASK at the University of Missouri-St. Louis

Oliver Herring’s TASK

Gallery 210, University of Missouri-St. Louis

October 21-DECEMBER 5, 2011.

TASK PARTY: October 21, 2011, 5:00PM to 9:00PM

RECEPTION FOR TASK EXHIBITION: October 28, 2011 5:30PM to 7:30 PM

TASK, a self-generating, improvisational art-making event developed by artist Oliver Herring will be held at Gallery 210 on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis on October 21. Herring is an internationally known experimental artist based in Brooklyn New York. His works include knitting Mylar, participatory performances, styrofoam photo sculpture, video, and TASK.

OLIVER HERRING IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS. He will be on the UMSL campus from October 17 through October 28. You can reach him at oliverherring@earthlink.net or by phone at 917-699-1677. Interviews can be scheduled while he is on campus by contacting Terry Suhre, Director for Gallery 210 at 314-516-5952.

What is TASK?

TASK is an improvisational event with a simple structure and very few rules.

It’s open-ended, participatory structure creates almost unlimited opportunities for a group of people to interact with one another and their environment. It is a platform for people to express and test their own ideas in an environment without a focus on failure or success or any preconceptions of what can or should be done with an idea or material.

TASK events take place in a designated area with a variety of props and materials and rely on the participation of people who agree to follow two simple rules: to first write down a task on a piece of paper, add it to a designated “TASK pool,” secondly, to pull a task from that pool and interpret it any which way he or she wants, using whatever materials and space is available. When a task is completed, the participant writes a new task, pulls a new task, and so on. TASKs’ flow and momentum depends on the tasks written and interpreted by the participants. The continuous conception and interpretation of tasks is both chaotic and purpose driven. It is a complex, ever shifting environment of people who connect with one another through what is going on around them. One person’s tasks become absorbed into other people’s tasks, objects generated from one task are recycled into someone else’s task without issues of ownership or permanence.

TASK Parties have recently taken place at the University Galleries, Illinois State University, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota; Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa; Fieldcrest High School, Minonk, Illinois; University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois; Principia College, Elsah, Illinois; University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio; Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Augsburg College, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Oliver Herring will curate an exhibition from the objects created by the TASK participants as well as work by the artist.

The TASK Party will take place on October 21 from 5:00PM to 9:00PM. There is a reception for the TASK exhibition on October 28 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. The artist will give a gallery talk at 6:15PM in the Gallery 210 auditorium.
 

This exhibition is supported in part by the Regional Arts Council, the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, and the Center for the Humanities.

All Gallery 210 events are free and open to the public. Public parking for Gallery 210 is available at the South Millennium Parking Garage on the east side of East Drive on the UM-St. Louis Campus. Handicapped parking is available behind Gallery 210.

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Gallery: (314) 516-5976/ Office: (314) 516-5952

Fax: (314) 516-4997

Email: gallery@umsl.edu

Web site: www.umsl.edu/~gallery/

Gallery 210 is on the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 44 East Drive, TCC between the North UM-St. Louis Metro Station and the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The gallery phone is (314) 516-5976; the fax is (314) 516-4997; email gallery@umsl.edu and the website is umsl.edu/~gallery/.

For more information on Oliver Herring and TASK visit http://oliverherringtask.wordpress.com/.

OLIVER HERRING IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS. He will be on the UMSL campus from October 17 through October 28. You can reach him at oliverherring@earthlink.net or by phone at 917-699-1677. Interviews can be scheduled while he is on campus by contacting Terry Suhre, Director for Gallery 210 at 314-516-5952.