Slotawa and Sham… wow

Two of our 12.1 International Artists-in-Residence (IAIR) arrived in San Antonio yesterday for their preliminary visit to Artpace. Florian Slotawa, our international artist, traveled to the Lone Star State from Berlin, Germany. James Sham, who will rep Texas in the first IAIR cycle of 2012, is based in Houston. (And we’re looking forward to meeting our national resident Adam Pendleton, from Germantown, New York, next month.) The 12.1 trio was selected by guest curator Jeffrey Grove, the Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art.

The artists will move into the Artpace flats in late January to begin their two-month residency, which will culminate in exhibitions that open Thursday, March 22 and run through May 20, 2012. During their preliminary visit, the artists are introduced to the Artpace staff and facilities—and most importantly, Taco Friday. (Missed having lunch with us today? The community is invited to meet and greet the artists tonight at La Tuna Grill in Southtown from 8 to 10pm!)

The staff was treated to an informal presentation of the artists’ past work and processes yesterday, and it’s only fair to share a little of the fun with our blog readers. So please enjoy Sham’s Close Caption, a video work from 2008 that features DJ Kool’s 1996 hip-hop classic, Let Me Clear My Throat, as interpreted by an American Sign Language translator who maintains stoicism while energetically signing laugh-inducing lyrics along to the beat of the music. And now, without further ado (ah huh ah huh ah):

Image credit: Upcoming IAIR 12.1 resident artists Florian Slotawa (left) and James Sham at Taco Friday at Artpace. Photo by Wendi Kimura