Lie, Cheat, Steal: Contemporary Art & Ethics—Kresge Gallery, Lyon College, Fall 2019
Curated and organized by Ian Campbell and the members of the Lyon chapter of Kappa Pi Art Honors Society. Featured artists: Kenton Adler, Carly Dahl, Alex Djordjevic, Jessica Eastburn, Mrinal Joshi, Mirka Knaster, Firoz Mahmud, John C. Manion, Matthew Mogle, Valerie Mendoza, Shanna Merola, Ed Pennebaker, Nathaniel Roe, PlantBot Genetics (aka Wendy DesChene & Jeff Schmuki), Kate Shannon, Michael Webster, & Kristen T. Woodward.
In Contemporary Art appropriation has become a common practice; many artists weave falsehoods and half-truths into their work; and some art-makers walk a fine line between collaboration and exploitation. Daily life in general can also be filled with moral dilemmas and ethical gray-areas. Featuring a wide range of artists whose work addresses, explores, critiques, or perhaps even employs some form of lying, cheating, or stealing (broadly defined), this exhibition highlighted the intersection of Art & Ethics.
Lie, Cheat, Steal was hosted by the Kresge Gallery, an art exhibition space and center for academic and artistic discourse in the Lyon College community. Critical inquiry is an integral part of Lyon’s mission, and honor and integrity are core values of this college. But what does this look like for a 21st century artist? Contemporary artists borrow images and ideas, create fictions, exaggerate facts, and manipulate viewers’ emotions. How far is too far? The artists in Lie, Cheat, Steal frame issues of honesty and integrity in ways that may be serious, humorous, even provocative.