kendallprojects
HEAD TRAUMA: From the Outer Rim
Exhibition: May 23 – July 7, 2019
Artist Talk: Thursday, May 23, 6 pm
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 23, 7 – 9 pm
Reception Admission: $5 suggested donation for non-members
Contact: Hannah Shepard
701 Center for Contemporary Art
701 Whaley St., 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 319–9949
www.701cca.org
Columbia’s 701 Center for Contemporary Art presents a solo exhibition by interdisciplinary artist Jason Kendall, who presents his artwork under the name kendallprojects. The exhibition, titled HEAD TRAUMA: From the Outer Rim, incorporates drawing, painting, sculpture and performance. In his gallery-wide installation, the artist addresses American Football culture by exploring themes of identity construction, masculinity, violence in sports and conditional self-worth based on physical performance.
HEAD TRAUMA: From the Outer Rim runs from May 23rd to July 7th. The exhibition will open with an artist talk at 6 pm on Thursday, May 23rd, directly followed by an opening reception from 7-9 pm. The reception is free for 701 CCA members: there is a $5 suggested donation for non-members.
Kendallprojects is an exploration of the artist’s personal experience. Kendall was born and raised in Columbia, S.C. He briefly majored in Studio Art while playing football at the University of South Carolina and North Greenville College from 1994-1998. He quit to escape the negative physical and psychological aspects of the sport and to pursue a career as an artist.
Kendall received his B.F.A. in Sculpture from the Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, Florida, and his M.F.A from New York University. During this time, he developed the umbrella title, kendallprojects, which provided a canopy for the variety of genres, media and ideas in his work. As he explains, “the studio practice I employ is devoted to the exercise of exhausting the possibilities of different physical materials and experiences in popular culture by attacking the notions of drawing, painting, sculpture and performance.”
In HEAD TRAUMA: From the Outer Rim, Kendall examines football culture by directly exploring the sport’s system of conditional self-worth, a construct based on physical performance to solidify one’s masculinity, as well as how this system functions for the individual players and how it has shifted over time. The artist is not only a spectator, but also a critical analyst, distancing himself from the self-destructive nature exhibited by many
athletes. Each piece is created to echo a time during the artist’s athletic and artistic career to make the viewer feel uncomfortable, yet amused. The sculptural objects, drawings, videos and installations reflect the unstable nature of today’s American football culture, which is thrown into turmoil by the publication of compelling data about brain injuries, causing many players to retire “pre-maturely.”
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701 CCA is a non-profit visual arts center that promotes understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of contemporary art, the creative process and the role of art and artists in the community. The center also encourages interaction between visual and other art forms. Admission to all exhibitions is free.
701 CCA is located at 701 Whaley Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201. During exhibitions, hours are Wed-Sat 11–5; Sun 1-5. For more information, visit www.701cca.org. For further inquiries or high-resolution images, contact [email protected] or call (803) 319-9949. Please check the 701 CCA website for additional information on the exhibition and associated events.