Ming Mur-Ray
(Hong Kong,1951)
Occupying a large section of the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, Ming Mur-Ray’s installation was entitled CYM55296 Poison Shelf. Arranged on long shelves, the artist neatly installed rows of square wooden tablets displaying an invented language of calligraphy. Another element of the installation was rows of books sealed tight and with the phrase, “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil,” on their covers, alluding to censorship within the arts. Also, part of the work was a bookcase randomly stacked with books fond to be controversial or drawing public complaints. Together these elements created a dialogue around language, and how public and private opinion often categorizes based on content.
Curators: Erika Torri and Marie Vickers Horne
Organizer: Athenaeum Music and Arts Library
Venue: Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, La Jolla
Acknowledgments
Additional project sponsors
California Arts Council, and Commission for Arts and Culture, City of San Diego
The artist had identifying numbers sandblasted into Plexiglas and arranged them in a grid. On another wall there are identifying labels of anonymous men and women describing them by occupation and race. The installation also included self-portraits in oil with the artist depicted in various guises and identities.
Curator: Louise Kirtland Boehm
Venue: Boehm Gallery, Palomar College, San Marcos
Organizer: Boehm Gallery, Palomar College