Santa Clara University

Something New at the de Saisset Museum

From the electronic, digital, and Web-based new media creations in the Tech Tools of the Trade: Contemporary New Media Art exhibit, to the inspirational pieces in the ArtsConnect: Art Empowers show, this spring the de Saisset Museum is offering a glimpse of art and techniques most visitors probably haven’t seen before.

“Our thoughts were to introduce the Santa Clara community and the de Saisset community to new media work in a very accessible way,” says Kathy Aoki, an assistant professor of studio art at SCU and one of the curators of the Tech Tools show, which will run April 17 through June 28. “Some people might think new media work is all digital or on the computer. There might be a little bit of resistance to accepting that as an art form as compared to other traditional media that people are more familiar with.”

But the term “new media” does not mean all the art is computer-generated. “Much of the work points out the fact that technology is everywhere. Some artists are addressing technology-based concepts— eBay or Second Life, for example—and then using a low-tech method to create their work. Other artists in the exhibition use very sophisticated technology to get a point across that may or may not have to do with technology. And then some artists do both—they are addressing technology issues, and they also use technology in their work,” Aoki says.

This is the eleventh year the de Saisset has hosted the ArtsConnect exhibition, which will run May 8 through June 28 this year. ArtsConnect is sponsored by the Arts Council Silicon Valley, which places artists in residence at alternative schools for at-risk youth in the area. The de Saisset donates the exhibition space to display selected works from that collaboration. “To publicly acknowledge and display their accomplishments helps with building their selfesteem,” Schapp says. “Giving them this opportunity is what we—the Arts Council and the de Saisset— feel is really important in order for them to be empowered to build and carry out successful lives.”

For more information, visit www.scu.edu/desaisset. The museum is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and closed Monday. No charge for admission. Free tours are available to community groups by calling the museum at 554-4528 for reservations.