Season Preview: Nudes, a Biennial, and Video Art on Tap for SMoCA

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Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art recently unveiled the full list of offerings for its 2011-2012 season, and the lineup is a bit of a departure from recent shows.

Don't expect the stifled laughter provoked by a nude man frolicking the the snow in Dance With Camera, the whimsical feel of creations by Sue Chenoweth, or the comic book-inspired props of Jon Haddock. The new season's taking a more streamlined and serious approach to modern art -- and don't mistake serious for boring.

One of the most prominent -- and outspoken -- artists on SMoCA's upcoming roster is Kiki Smith, the noted feminist artist and daughter of late architectural designer Tony Smith.

As a child, Smith helped construct cardboard models with her siblings, which later grew into a passion for making delicate sculptures. Her eerily erotic fairy tale drawings of wolves and naked girls, bronze sculptures of flayed female bodies , video works, and some 5,000 snapshots will be in Smith's SMoCA exhibition.

Find out what else is on tap at SMoCA after the jump.

The 2011-2012 season starts with the annual People's Biennial, a somewhat controversial exhibition that pushes the boundaries of what separates "art" from "craft."

The traveling show highlights non-traditional works such as one of the stuffed critters found in Beatrice Moore's infamous Mutant Pinata Show. Though there's one painting exhibition, much of the season relies on interactive, multimedia displays.

Taking a cue from their successful Architecture + Art program, January's "economy of means: toward humility in contemporary sculpture" is all about minimalism and streamlined modernism.

There's also a strong video component to the season, not only with Smith's show but in the cleverly named, "artists tell stories (mostly about themselves)," and in a solo display of projections by former filmmaker Peter Sarkisian.

And if all that isn't pushing the boundaries, the season concludes with a five-person group exhibition that involves the premiere of a new musical composition by Judd Greenstein.

See dates, times, and more information for each exhibition on the SMoCA website.

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Season Preview: Nudes, a Biennial, and Video Art on Tap for SMoCA

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