Historiographie: Collective Reconstructions of Imaginary Pasts

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 8th, 7-10 pm
Exhibition Dates: November 5th-22nd, 2008
Gallery Hours: Wednesdays - Saturdays, 12-4 pm (or by appointment)
Sliding Scale Suggested Donation: $2-$20

Cadresquad, a collective of five Bay Area artists, believes histories are constructed out of a collective yearning for an idea that doesn’t exist in our current reality. Assuming this to be true, how possible is it to decipher which is authentic?

In their exhibition Historiographie: Collective Reconstructions of Imaginary Pasts, the members of Cadresquad function not as accurate illustrators of the past but as catalysts for better understanding our present circumstances. Both individually and collectively, they investigate constructions of local history, imaginary narratives, personal memories and the mediation of culture. Specific themes include the once magnificent and now ruinous Sutro Baths, a San Francisco landmark built in the late 1800’s, and the housing of the nuclear warheads that demolished Hiroshima and Nagasaki in San Francisco’s Hunter’s Point Shipyard.

In addition to performances by several local bands, visitors to the exhibit will have the chance to participate in a shared, cumulative project involving the reconstruction of time based on simple preferences.

Artists include:
Rebecca Frediani
Dana Hemenway
Carrie Maseredjian
Kasey Smith
Zan Truman

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.