Retractions
An exhibition exploring notions of vacated information
Curated by Whitney Lynn

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 10, 7-10 pm
Exhibition Dates: January 7-24, 2009
Sliding Scale Suggested Donation: $2-$20

Root Division presents an exhibition of 30 artists exploring notions of vacated information. Highlighting the content of absence, these artists work with themes of censorship, value, memory and loss.

Using techniques of erasure, displacement, cancellation and extraction, the act of taking out information often gives new meaning to what is left. Simplifying or abandoning material can highlight essential content, provide codification, or stand as a subversive gesture.

Artists include Adam Whitney Day who scratches the surface off of currency and exchanges the 'worthless' paper for intact bills and Robin Johnston who weaves the last Morse Code message sent before the language was abandoned for the now standard Global Maritime Distress Safety System. Ann Mansolino explores the visual record of suppression by documenting Singaporean libraries' systematic censorship of photography books, Will Tucker has transformed a bubble maker into a machine that spits coal slurry, and Ramekon O'Arwisters will perform using only a wine glass and an Aunt Jemima figurine.

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Sponsored By:

Artists include:
Peter Baldes
Taha Belal
Jan Blythe
Ross Campbell
Deric Carner*
Jon Clary* & Bruce Wilhelm
Julie Cloutier & Claire Nereim
James Davis
Adam Whitney Day
JRF
Jennifer Maria Harris
Ryan Hendon
Robin Johnston
Ryan Jones*
Forrest Lewinger
Ann Mansolino
Ramekon O’Arwisters
Piero Passacantando
Moshe Quinn
Michael J. Ryan
Jeff Schmuki
Travis LeRoy Southworth
James Tantum
Will Tucker
Hooper Turner
J. Parker Valentine
Allison Watkins
Julie Weitz
Jameson Zaerr
* Root Division Resident Artist

ROOT DIVISION GALLERY
3175 17th Street (at S. Van Ness)
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.863.766
www.rootdivision.org

ABOUT ROOT DIVISION:
Root Division is an arts and arts education non-profit located in the Mission District of San Francisco. Root Division's mission is to improve appreciation and access to the visual arts by connecting personal inspiration and community participation. We provide subsidized studio space to working artists in exchange for their service in creating shared learning opportunities for the community. Artists develop creatively and professionally by teaching art to underserved youth, leading adult education classes, and producing exhibitions that showcase local emerging artwork. By combining multiple opportunities for creative exchange, Root Division cultivates an artistic ecosystem that enriches life throughout the Bay Area.

Root Division is supported in part by grants from Grants for the Arts: SF Hotel Tax Fund & Voluntary Arts Contribution Fund, The San Francisco Foundation, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, and the Potrero Nuevo Fund. The Second Saturday Exhibition Series is sponsored by the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, the San Francisco Arts Commission through a Cultural Equity Grant/Organizational Project Grant, the Fleishhacker Foundation, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation.

For further information regarding events and/or press materials, please do not hesitate to contact Selene Foster at 415.863.7668 or events@rootdivision.org.