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Matt Stokes: these are the days
January 24 – April 5, 2009

image: Autumn Spadaro(2008)
From punk performance at Broken Neck, Austin

PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Saturday, January 24, 3:00pm
Talking Art with Matt Stokes
Arthouse at the Jones Center
Free admission

these are the days is an exhibition and commission of new work by British artist Matt Stokes inspired by punk rock subcultures—past and present—in Austin, Texas. Stokes is the recipient of the esteemed 2006 Beck’s Futures Prize and these are the days is his first institutional exhibition and first original commission in the United States. The exhibition involves a 16mm film production and installation, an original audio recording, and the collection of ephemera related to the punk, post-punk, and DIY movements which has been assembled over a series of trips Stokes made to Austin. The two-channel film installation features footage taken at an Arthouse organized punk show held at the Broken Neck in Austin, and a band session recorded at Sweatbox Studio in Austin. The newly created films were concurrently presented at Project Space 176, a major new contemporary art space located in the Camden section of London – an area strongly connected to growth of the UK punk scene.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Matt Stokes’ artistic practice is marked by anthropological enquiry and an interest in events or informal movements that bind people together. Music subcultures have been central to the development of his most recent projects, which have focused on their ability to shape lifestyle, beliefs and create community. Stokes’ most noted works to date include Long After Tonight, a 16mm film that conveys strong emotional and spiritual content through the British communities connected to the music and dance of Northern Soul, and Real Arcadia, a research-based project focusing on the history of a small, rural acid house organization, which archives and interprets the clandestine experience of those who attended or were affected by a series of cave raves organized by the group.

Matt Stokes lives and works in Newcastle/Gateshead, England. In 2006, he received the Beck’s Futures Prize. Recent solo exhibitions include: Real Arcadia (LuttgenMeijer, Berlin), Now is Early (VOID, Derry), Long After Tonight (Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago and ZieherSmith, New York), [un]promised land (Attitudes espace d'arts contemporains, Geneva), Lost in the Rhythm (Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin), and Pills to Purge Melancholy (Collective, Edinburgh). Forthcoming shows (both solo and group) will take place at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (Gateshead), Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci (Prato, Italy). Stokes is a recent artist in residence at Project Space176 (London) and is producing a new commission for VIVID (Birmingham).

Admission is FREE and open to the public.


SUPPORT
The film is co-produced by ZieherSmith and Arthouse.
The exhibition and accompanying publication have been made possible, in part, by Arts Council England, Michael A. Chesser, Johnna and Stephen Jones, Julie and John Thornton, and ZieherSmith, New York.

Arthouse Season Sponsors:
Austin Ventures
Intercontinental Hotel – Stephen F. Austin
Jones Villalta Asset Management
The Rosemary Haggar Vaughan Family Foundation

Arthouse at the Jones Center is supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art. Additional support provided by individuals, corporations, foundations and Arthouse members.

Matt Stokes
these are the days, 2008-09
two-channel Super 16 mm film installation with audio, 6:26 minutes
dimensions variable
Commissioned by Arthouse and co-produced by ZieherSmith, New York


Film credits:

Megan Gilbride - Production Manager
PJ Raval - Director of Photography
Lee Daniel - Director of Photography 2
Wes Turner - Assistant Camera
Raul Erivez - Assistant Camera
Harrison Witt - Gaffer
Rich Bond - Key Grip
Alex Daboub - Camera Loader
Ian Squigley - Swing/Driver
Hailey Keisewetter - Production Assistant
Jon Klekman - Production Assistant
Timmy Heffner - Event Coordinator


Thanks to bands who played at the Broken Neck, Austin: Vaaska, Unit 21, Lebenden Toten, and Inepsy


Soundtrack credits:

Tim Kerr - Producer/Adviser
Mike Vasquez - Recording Engineer

Ryan Maloney - Drums
Austin Moore - Guitar
Yoshi Okai - Vocals
Dustin Pilkington - Guitar
Logan Worrell - Bass

The soundtrack was produced and recorded at Sweatbox Studio, Austin

The artist and Arthouse gratefully acknowledge the following institutions and individuals who have loaned archival materials or provided crucial information to this project:

Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
Southwestern Writers Collection, Texas State University, San Marcos

Mike “The Anvil” Alvaraz
Jim and Dee Dee Berry
Pat Blashill
Rob Buford
Margaret Burnette
Scott Conn
Cathy Criss
Laura Croteau
Sarah Cunningham
Brian and Mindy Curly
Neil Curran
Lee Daniel
Kathy Darr
Pat Doyle
Caroline Estes
Brad First
Chris Gates
Ellen Gibbs
Mitch Ginsberg
Bevis Griffin
Tim Hamblin
Dave Haney
Jennifer “LaSuprema” Hecker
“Jonie Hell”
Tom Huckabee
Ken Jones
John Kays
Lynn Keller
Tim and Beth Kerr
Phil Lenihan
Carlos Lowry
Richard Luckett
Rich Malley
Steve Marsh
Joel Minor
Casey Monahan
Jo Ann Moran
Lee Moran
Margaret Moser
Sally Norvell
Tony “Offender”
Joe Nick Patoski
Stephanie Peco
Billy J. Pringle
Becky Richwulf
Kevin Roberts
Dick Ross
Larry Seaman
Elizabeth Skadden
John Slate/”Control Rat X”
Jeff Smith
Sam Staples
Jesse Sublett
Jay Trachtenburg
Nick West/”Nick Modern”
Chris Wing
Stewart Wise
Carolyn "Wild Lady" Woolfork