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Between You and Me

August 5, 2020–February 28, 2021
Chloë Bass, “I put these words in the bathroom because the bathroom is a place where people read” from The Book of Everyday Instruction, Chapter Four: It’s Amazing We Don’t have More Fights, 2020; vinyl, bathroom tissue, and ink; installed in The Sheboygan Men's Room by Ann Agee at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Between You and Me assembles a group of contemporary artists whose work engages in acts of connection and care. Whether working in their immediate communities or extending themselves to strangers, these artists employ practices that might model ways for fuller participation in the places we call home.

Featuring everyday objects including furniture, toolkits, books, menus, letters, signs, and other articles designed and made by artists, Between You and Me tackles a range of subjects—from hospitality to belonging—that intersect with ideas of making and sustaining community.

The exhibition invites looking beyond the specific work of art to appreciate the less material, though impactful, outcomes of the artists’ processes. Each of these acts of making and connecting, or connecting through making, confirms that artists are environment builders when they cultivate networks, nurture the growth of skills and knowledge, and care for or minister to the needs of others.

This exhibition is curated by Shannon R. Stratton.

Artists in the exhibition: Chloë Bass, Sara Clugage, General Sisters (Dana Bishop-Root and Ginger Brooks Takahashi), John Preus, Benjamin Todd Wills, Christine Wong Yap, and Harriet Tubman Center for Expanded Curatorial Practice with Lisa Jarrett and Harrell Fletcher featuring the work of artist Lawrence Oliver.

Resources for this Exhibition

Care Is Like a Forest Exhibition Catalogue
Care Is Like a Forest is an artist-produced exhibition catalogue for Between You and Me. The catalogue was coauthored by the Harriet Tubman Middle School Center for Expanded Curatorial Practice (HTC) in Portland, Oregon as part of their contribution to the exhibit. Edited by Lisa Jarrett and Harrell Fletcher. Coauthored by Bea, Elliot, Esperanza, Harrell, Joyce, Lisa, Nora, and Syncier of the Harriet Tubman Middle School for Expanded Curatorial Practice, a KSMoCA satellite project. Download 

Conversations on Care: A Panel Discussion
On May 9, curator Shannon R. Stratton curated a round-robin discussion with the artists featured in JMKAC’s upcoming exhibition, Between You and Me. Artists Chloë Bass, Sara Clugage, Harrell Fletcher and Lisa Jarrett, General Sisters (Dana Bishop-Root and Ginger Brooks Takahashi), John Preus, Benjamin Todd Wills, and Christine Wong Yap discussed the practices and processes that inform and shape acts of care in their work.
Download the transcript 

Care in an Artist’s Practice
How does concept of “care” manifest itself in an artist’s practice? Sara Clugage, Benjamin Todd Wills, and Christine Wong Yap—three artists in this exhibition—discuss just that, and give ideas about how to incorporate “care” into your life or artwork.

Humanure: A Webinar
Is the sewer system the only end for human waste? Or can it be turned into something useful? This webinar, featuring General Sisters Dana Bishop-Root and Ginger Brooks Takahashi and Nance Klehm of Spontaneous Vegetation, explores the context of, science behind, and vision for a system that turns human waste—humanure—into compost. Please note: This video contains scatological content and is peppered with four-letter synonyms for “poop.” Humanure print

Sara Clugage’s Broken Glass Jell-O
This project explores the accumulation of art, money, and food through two eras of massive wealth inequality: the Gilded Age and today. Broken Glass Jell-O Recipe

Between You and Me Exhibition Zine
Download the zine for Between You and Me, featuring an essay by curator Shannon R. Stratton and a list of artist-recommended readings that amplify the ideas explored in the exhibition. Download

Between You and Me curator Shannon Stratton discusses the concepts and themes of the exhibition.

Dessert Democracy
Follow along as Sara Clugage creates a colorful gelatin dish and discusses wealth inequality throughout the Gilded Age and today.

Subject to Change by Chloë Bass is a print piece which reflects on the intimacy between people and cities. The artist has overlaid six squares on the images of the Arts Center. Each square features a color that is predominantly in the image, and the text “subject to change” is overlaid. This piece is a reflection on the constant change cities experience due to the phenomenon of gentrification, as well as the role that arts organizations play in this process.

Gratitude Letter Project
Writing a thank-you note can lift your mood—and cheer up the person who receives it. Want to be a part of this win-win proposition?

Write and send a gratitude letter using stationery created by Between You and Me artist Christine Wong Yap. Yap’s work investigates positive psychology, including two-way mood-boosters such as thank-you notes. Join in her Gratitude Letter Project, which will culminate in a Sheboygan mailbag of gratitude. Easy instructions can be found at socialstudio.space.

The Artists

Between You and Me is supported by the Kohler Trust for Arts and Education, the Frederic Cornell Kohler Charitable TrustKohler Foundation, Inc.Herzfeld Foundation, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Public programming related to Between You and Me is supported in part by the Wisconsin Arts BoardArts Midwest, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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