Bolsky Gallery at Otis College of Art and Design is pleased to present:
BILLBOARD PRENUP: A BYTE OF LOVE
A Thesis Exhibition by MFA Fine Arts candidate Vita Kari
Reception: March 28th, 6-9pm Performance 7PM
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Exhibition Dates: March 22nd - March 29th, 2024
Taking its cues from early reality dating shows, BILLBOARD PRENUP: A BYTE OF LOVE grapples with the blurring of digital and physical boundaries. Kari (they/them) explores their lived experience of becoming a cultural virus, otherwise known as a meme, throughout the gallery and during a performance piece where the artist marries their digital and physical selves.
Through installation, video and sculptural works, Kari invites guests to transition between their domestic, private and public bodies as they enter the space.
Their work about public domain is interrupted by the hyperpersonal, as Kari adorns several objects with designs reminiscent of their grandmother's clothing. Reimaging and recreating their grandmother’s rugs, Kari elicits narratives of diaspora, family and memory through their hyper feminine queer lens.
Leveraging both conventional and cutting-edge technologies, the exhibition seeks to disrupt and reflect upon the nature of self-presentation and identity in a digitally interconnected world.
SAVE THE DATE:
At 7PM on March 28th, the artist requests the honor of your consumption at the ceremony and celebration of the wedding between:
Vita “Bodily” Kari
&
Vita “Holograph” Kari
Vita Kari is a non-binary artist known for creating immersive performance work involving illusion. Kari highlights contemporary issues of digital identity and commercialism.
Kari has performed in Los Angeles, New York City and Miami. They have had solo exhibitions, including "Escape to Vitawood" at ULO World, and participated in group exhibitions, most recently at Good Mother Gallery in Los Angeles. Kari's work has been profiled in publications such as Forbes, Artnet, Interview Magazine, Gay Times, Jezebel and more. They have had collaborations with Marc Jacobs, Loewe, Levi, Warby Parker, PUMA, Savage x Fenty by Rihanna, Bratz, and Adult Swim. Kari is also known for opening VITAWOOD LA; 2020 - 2022, a community-run art space and gallery in Los Angeles. Kari is an MFA candidate at Otis College of Art and design, and recently gave an artist talk at UCLA.
vitakari.com • vitawood@vitakari.com • @vitakari
ACCESS INFORMATION
PARKING
There is a large, multistory parking garage off of La Tijera Blvd. with visitor parking and disabled person placard spots on the first floor. There is only one van-accessible parking space. The other placard spots each have a 5 foot wide, blue no-parking area next to them. There is parking on the higher stories that is usually largely empty, and an elevator serving the entire structure. Campus Safety has confirmed that visitors can park on the upper stories of the garage in addition to the visitor section on the first story.
The route from the parking garage to the Bolsky gallery in the Galef building is roughly 190 feet and includes a single automatic door.
BLIND/LOW-VISION ACCESS
Otis campus has braille and raised characters labeling interior rooms and elevators. It does not have braille or raised characters labeling buildings.
There will not be image descriptions.
DEAF/HOH ACCESS, LANGUAGE ACCESS, SOUND
No ASL nor other language interpretation has been arranged.
The video pieces will include captions. The reception performance will not include captions or interpretation.
In the gallery, sound echos quite a lot. It can become quite discordant and loud.
SHARED AIR
Visitors are not required to wear face masks. Surgical masks and rapid antigen tests will be provided.
There will be scent present in the space. Additionally, the space may have been cleaned with scented and/or chemical materials.
The space in front of the gallery opens to the outdoors.
LIGHTS
Various screens and types of light–but no fluorescent lights–will be present in the Bolsky gallery. However the rest of the building uses tube lights, which are probably fluorescent.
BATHROOMS
There are gendered, multi-stall bathrooms on the first floor of Galef (about 120 feet from the Bolsky gallery). The closest gender-neutral bathroom is on the second floor of Galef (about 220 feet from the Bolsky gallery), which can be accessed by stairs or elevator, both of which are outside of the front entrance. All bathrooms are multi-use with lever-handles on the doors. Each includes a single wheelchair-accessible stall.
SEATING
There are concrete benches and plastic chairs in the hallways. The weight capacities are unknown.
CONTACT
email: vitawood@vitakari.com