"Open For Business" Artists Talk Creative Consumerism at ASU Art Museum

This week, Kathleen Vanesian took a closer at the ASU Art Museum's Open For Business -- an exhibition in which 16 local artists teamed up with Tempe businesses to display their own interpretations of business.Vanesian explains the project's inception, progress and curatorial work by ASU Art Museum's John Spiak. She...

By Claire Lawton

November 9, 2010

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This week, Kathleen Vanesian took a closer at the ASU Art Museum's Open For Business -- an exhibition in which 16 local artists teamed up with Tempe businesses to display their own interpretations of business.

Vanesian explains the project's inception, progress and curatorial work by ASU Art Museum's John Spiak. She concludes that while the project certainly supports the arts scene and highlights "creative consumerism," the show's high concept might leave its audience behind. She writes:

"The results of all this effort are on display in both ASUAM and in the businesses that are participating. More than just symbolic spit-swapping between art and retail business, some artists in "Open for Business" have done serious homework after letting their imaginations run amok -- and it shows.

A number of pieces in the show are fairly complex and appear as if they'll survive long past their obvious origins. However, their very complexity could work against them, as far as the general public is concerned." Read the full story here.

The artwork will be on display through January 29, and tonight the ASU Art Museum is hosting a free panel conversation with a majority of the participating artists, moderated by Spiak and Gregory Sale.

Event details are after the jump ...

Tonight's discussion is from 6 to 8 p.m. at the ASU Art Museum, at 10th Street and Mill Avenue in Tempe.

For more information about the event and the exhibition, visit the ASU Art Museum website.

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