Jef Bourgeau in the satellite space inside the Russell Industrial Center
Their Beginning: Detroit’s Contemporary Museum since 1996. “Bourgeau, who has been running the gallery in spirit and without a permanent home for the last year, fully knows new art, and the controversy it can sometimes spark. He is a long-time artist himself, running commercial galleries in Detroit, New York, Chicago, and Santa Monica, and has shown around the world. He earned some local notoriety last November – when he cemented his desire to open a museum of contemporary art – after the DIA asked him to create an exhibition of modern art. The dubious result: a show called Art Until Now, which the DIA’s new director Graham Beal closed after three days as a preemptive strike against the “hot button” issues he felt might offend certain visitors.” – Quoted from the Windsor Star
Hours and Location:
Space #1: 7 North Saginaw, Pontiac
Space #2: The Russell Industrial Center
1600 Clay Street
Detroit – Bldg. 2, 3rd Floor
Hours (@ space #1): Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12 noon until 6pm
Mission Statement: The Museum is the medium: for a vision; a vehicle for change; and, ultimately, for deciding art. Over 12 years, projects to promote the region’s art, artists and spaces: The first artist-run museum in the world.
Contact Info and How They Find Artists:
[Jef Bourgeau] detroitmona@aol.com, 248.210.7560
Something Different: “Art has always been a mirror held up of its culture, and if you wait to see if an object is art, it’s meaning will be lost.” Bourgeau also warns of the “Disney-fixation” of large art museums. “It’s economics,” he said. “Museums try to draw as many people as possible and attract a broad audience. That’s not bad but if you try to play to everyone, you simplify the art, and it dummies it down,” said Bourgeau. With his faith in the art community shaken, Bourgeau left the DIA. “It scares me more than the Pontiac incident. You expect fines for obscenity, that happens every day. But it was much more scary to see the art community censor itself.” Bourgeau received a settlement of $8,000 from the DIA over the “Van Gogh’s Ear” incident. “I didn’t know what to do with the money, really,” he said. The DIA money quickly became “seed money” for the MoNA. “It’s funny how things work out,” he said.” Quoted from the Oakland Post
Also, sometimes the artists in the show aren’t real. But which ones…
Artists Who Have Been Involved with the Space: Vagner Whitehead, Ian Swanson, Chris Samuels, Abigail Newbold, Andrew Thompson, Benjamin Teague, brandon walley, Chido Johnson, Dennis Nawrocki, Lindsey Yeo, Corine Vermeulen, Dick Goody, Jef Bourgeau, Kevin Beasley, Michael E. Smith., Michael E. Smithan, Michael Stone-Richards, Nathan Morgan, Patrick Gantert, Rebecca Mazzei, Steve Coy, Vince Carducci, Jessica Erickson, Ann Gordon, Joan Turbeck, Marie Gardeski, Tracy Heneberger, Dana Nevedal, Julie Pate, Bethan Higginbottom, Renee Nantais, Jacqueline Becker, Sacha Eckes, Narine Kchikian, John Azoni, Cooper Holoweski, Kyohei Abe, Hartmut Austen, Mary Fortuna, Kelly Frank, Rachel Hunt, Cyrus Karimipour, Marla Karimipour, Dietmar Krumrey, Jacque Liu, Alison Wong
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