Andrea Grover
Encyclopedia
Andrea Grover is a migrant curator, artist, and writer. She has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BFA from Syracuse University
and was a Core Fellow in residence at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In 1998, she founded Aurora Picture Show, a now recognized center for filmic art, that began in Grover's living room as "the world's most public home theater."
's "True North" in 2007, and Laurie Anderson
's film, "Hidden Inside Mountains" at The Menil Collection in 2008.
in art. In an interview with Leah DeVun for Wired Magazine, Grover explains that her interest in crowdsourcing formed out of her "fondness" for "early video collectives like Top Value Television, Videofreex, and Raindance." Her interest in creating "non-commodity-based artwork" led her to crowdsourcing. In another interview, Grover claims that crowdsourcing is growing rapidly, because "we're experiencing a moment in time where technology is allowing for people to cooperate in large numbers on all sorts of things."
Before Jeff Howe's article coined the term "crowdsourcing," Grover states that the original term was "relational art." While it would seem that crowdsourcing is a relatively new phenomenon, Grover claims that is only "a new term to describe something that already existed before the term was in common use." In the interview for Wired, Grover explained that crowdsourcing eliminates a financial barrier that prohibits most people from participating in art, as "Internet real estate is essentially free." Grover finds that the primary appeal of crowdsourcing is the satisfaction that is obtained through working with a community.
Grover hosts the Indirect Collaboration: Collective Creativity on the Web blog, which serves as a forum for discussing crowdsourcing in creative projects.
In Fall 2007, Grover offered a class at the University of Houston
, called Participation Art. The course presented a history of participation art since the 1960s, while also allowing students to create crowdsourced art.
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
and was a Core Fellow in residence at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In 1998, she founded Aurora Picture Show, a now recognized center for filmic art, that began in Grover's living room as "the world's most public home theater."
Aurora Picture Show
Grover founded Aurora Picture Show, which is a non-profit organization that screens non-commercial films. It was originally located in a former church building where Grover and her family lived. The "microcinema," as it is described, is now located near The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas. According to the website, "Aurora has hosted over 400 visiting artists and presented over 4000 films and videos." Aurora featured the premieres of Isaac JulienIsaac Julien
Isaac Julien is an installation artist and filmmaker.-Biography:Julien graduated from St Martin's School of Art in 1985, where he studied painting and fine art film...
's "True North" in 2007, and Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
's film, "Hidden Inside Mountains" at The Menil Collection in 2008.
Interest in crowdsourcing
Grover is known as a supporter for crowdsourcingCrowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
in art. In an interview with Leah DeVun for Wired Magazine, Grover explains that her interest in crowdsourcing formed out of her "fondness" for "early video collectives like Top Value Television, Videofreex, and Raindance." Her interest in creating "non-commodity-based artwork" led her to crowdsourcing. In another interview, Grover claims that crowdsourcing is growing rapidly, because "we're experiencing a moment in time where technology is allowing for people to cooperate in large numbers on all sorts of things."
Before Jeff Howe's article coined the term "crowdsourcing," Grover states that the original term was "relational art." While it would seem that crowdsourcing is a relatively new phenomenon, Grover claims that is only "a new term to describe something that already existed before the term was in common use." In the interview for Wired, Grover explained that crowdsourcing eliminates a financial barrier that prohibits most people from participating in art, as "Internet real estate is essentially free." Grover finds that the primary appeal of crowdsourcing is the satisfaction that is obtained through working with a community.
Grover hosts the Indirect Collaboration: Collective Creativity on the Web blog, which serves as a forum for discussing crowdsourcing in creative projects.
In Fall 2007, Grover offered a class at the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, called Participation Art. The course presented a history of participation art since the 1960s, while also allowing students to create crowdsourced art.
Recent Projects
- Phantom Captain: In 2006, Grover curated the first exhibition that explored crowdsourcingCrowdsourcingCrowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
in art. Located in the ApexartApexartApexart is a not-for-profit art space in Lower Manhattan. Founded in 1994, apexart presents exhibitions, host international residents, and publishes books...
gallery in New York, "Phantom Captain" http://www.apexart.org/exhibitions/grover.php showcased the work of 10-10,000 artists, from around the world, who collaborated through websites such as Learning to Love You More. This exhibit allowed viewers to compare and contrast individual efforts within the group projects. Grover chose the term "Phantom Captain" from a Buckminster FullerBuckminster FullerRichard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
book, which describes a collective consciousness that connects people. - Txt Me L8r: Co-curated by Aurora Picture Show and the Houston Center for Photography, "Txt Me L8r" showcased photography assignments completed with cell phone cameras. The participants received text messages with the assignments, and the results were exhibited in the Houston Center for Photography. Txt Me L8r attempted to "explore the potential for distributed creativity through the use of cell phone technology."
- Never Been to Tehran: Grover organized "Never Been to Tehran" with artist Jon Rubin. In 2008, this exhibit traveled through galleries in Iran, Turkey, New Zealand, the United States, and other countries. It featured the contributions of individuals through a photo-sharing album of their perspectives on TehranTehranTehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
. The exhibit featured twenty international artists, contributing 500 photographs. However, the photographs were not actually located in Tehran, instead, the participants photographed places in which they thought looked like Tehran. The purpose of this exhibition, according to Jon Rubin, was "essentially [to look] for moments of empathy, and as governments and media outlets are constructing a simple, polarized and distancing image of Iran, this empathy becomes a radical act." Grover claimed that the basic concept of the exhibition was to "do a show about never meeting." - Lessons in the Sky: Described as "A Filmic Tribute to Audubon," "Lessons in the Sky" was a screening which took place at the Audubon Terrace at The Hispanic Society of America. It showcased the "universal pastime of bird watching", and featured a series of short films, from documentary to experimental, dedicated to birds. Grover programmed this films for the Dia Art FoundationDia Art FoundationDia Art Foundation is a non-profit organization that initiates, supports, presents, and preserves art projects. It was established in 1974 as the Lone Star Foundation by Philippa de Menil, the daughter of Houston arts patron Dominique de Menil and an heiress to the Schlumberger oil exploration...
at the Hispanic Society of America in New York. - Menil Movies: Grover inaugurated the Menil Movies, a semi-annual screening series with The Menil Collection. Grover explains that "It turns out that I've been stalking The Menil Collection for so long that they've gotten used to me, and even invited me to host a semi-annual screening series of works from The Menil Archives.". The series attempts to uncover rarely seen work, such as documentaries, avant-garde film, and Soviet cinema, among others, in the Menil Archives.
- 29 Chains to the Moon: In Fall 2009, Grover curated "29 Chains to the Moon," which, according to the official website, featured "artists who put forth radical proposals, from seasteads and tree habitats to gift-based cultures, to make the world work for everyone." The exhibit showcased works which were simultaneously scientific and artistic.
External links
- Grover's Personal Website
- Aurora Picture Show
- The Moving Picture Show, Houston Chronicle, Lisa Gray
- Phantom Captain, New York Times, Holland Cotter
- Crowd Captain: Your Assignment Art, Wired, Leah DeVun
- Phantom Captain, Frieze, Eve Meltzer
- Meet the Micrecians: Microcinemas, Egg the Art Show, PBS
- A No Budget Production, Los Angeles Times, Robert Shuster