The Drawing Center, New York presents Day Job , on view at The Freedman Gallery at Albright College, from January 26–March 4, 2012. Comprised of work by 21 artists, the exhibition looks at the relationship between an artist’s “day job” and his or her creative practice. Although the term “day job” may be cast as something that steals time and focus from an artist’s practice, a generative relationship can also exist. Rather than subscribing to the idea that having a job is by definition disruptive, Day Job looks at the ways in which the information, skills, ideas, working conditions, or materials encountered on the job can become a source of influence. This presentation explores the ways in which artists relate to and choose their day jobs, or conversely, how one’s job may serve as an impetus for creating artistic work. Preceded by a long history of artists whose creative practice existed in parallel with other jobs, such as Alan Saret, who worked for New York’s Port Authority engineering division; Rosalyn Drexler, a wrestler; Andy Warhol, who worked in advertising and magazine illustration; and Adrian Piper, a philosophy professor, this presentation also provides a window into the myriad ways in which today’s working artists support themselves in an economic climate that often demands diverse and flexible solutions to staying afloat.
Originally presented at The Drawing Center, December 10, 2010–February 3, 2011. Click here to learn more about The Freedman Gallery at Albright College .
Image: Luis Romero. Selected Fetishes, 2006-2010. Mixed media, dimensions variable. Courtesy of Karen Lennox Gallery, Chicago.