Arty Girl: ASU Art Museum Hires Director

I can’t remember the last time ASU Art Museum had a Director. And, man, am I relieved to hear they have finally filled the position.

Gordon Knox will take the helm on January 11th, working part-time until July 1st when he will assume the full-time position.

Knox sounds like an interesting pick. He currently works as a “core collaborator” for the Stanford Humanities lab at Stanford University. He was recently recognized in Forbes Magazine for his projects that bring together the arts, humanities and sciences. This guy is all about multi-disciplinary collaborations that ignite social change.

Given the nature of the shows and art projects ASU has pumped out over the
last few years, Knox seems like a good candidate to bring those ideas
to the next level. I believe a University Museum is a great place to
display these interdisciplinary approaches, but I also hope they don’t
forget the importance of the traditional art show. We’ll see how this
all works out.

Here’s the press release with all the details:

Gordon
Knox named new ASU Art Museum director

 

TEMPE, Ariz. – The ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the
Arts announced the appointment of Gordon Knox as the new director for the ASU Art Museum. Knox, currently a core
collaborator for the Stanford Humanities Lab (SHL) at Stanford University, will begin his duties as
museum director on a part-time basis on Jan. 11, 2010, assuming the position
full-time July 1.

“Gordon Knox will be a visionary
leader for the ASU Art Museum, bringing unique
perspectives to the work of redefining the role and purpose of a university art
museum” says Kwang-Wu Kim, dean and director of the Herberger Institute for
Design and the Arts. “Gordon has a track record of conceiving and directing
creative, thought provoking, collaborative programs resulting in opportunities
to effect social change and to transform our understanding about art and
artists.”

Knox, whose work explores the
transformative role of the arts in society, was recently recognized by Forbes
Magazine for his work on collaborative projects at the SHL that brings together
experts in the arts, humanities and sciences and engages them in on-the-ground
efforts to effect social change. Knox brings to ASU an extensive background in
establishing and developing environments that recognize and foster new talents
across all art disciplines and mediums.

“Gordon Knox is deeply committed to
engaging with community while connecting the museum to his broad global
networks,” Kim says. “Working with our excellent curators and staff, I am
confident he will engage artists and audiences in exciting, new conversations
about art in the 21st century.”

Knox believes that ASU’s commitment
to broad, lateral access to excellence in education defines much of the still to
be explored potential of the ASU Art
Museum.

“The ASU Art Museum is the right place at the right
time to activate a new model of how ideas flow from the past to the present to
animate the thinking of today and build the communities of tomorrow,” Knox says.
“A museum’s job is to provide public access to the full range of humanity’s
thinking; combining that commitment with the radical possibilities of ASU today
offers the greatest imaginable opportunity. I am both honored and fully
activated by being invited to join the ASU team.”

Previous to the SHL, Knox was the
artistic director of the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga,
CA, developing ambitious projects such as
Edge of Desire, the only West
Coast exhibition of a comprehensive collection of recent art from
India, and FUSE, a new media collaboration with the
CADRE laboratory at San
Jose State University. Knox also was
the founding director of the Lucas Artists Program, a residency program at
Montalvo that identifies exceptional international artists and supports them as they develop new work while in
residence in eleven newly designed live/work
studios.

During the 1990’s as the founding
Director of the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Italy, Knox
envisioned and established a center for the arts designed to advance and widen
the discourse of contemporary cultural practice by engaging the voices and
thinking of practitioners from all parts of the world and providing them with
excellent conditions to advance their work. Civitella quickly became a new model
for international, multidisciplinary residency programs.

As a part of the transition to
Knox’s directorship, current interim director Heather
Lineberry has been named Interim Associate Director and Senior
Curator, effective on Knox’s arrival. In that role, Lineberry will work closely
with Knox as an administrative partner while also continuing to pursue her
curatorial interests.

The ASU Art Museum continues to examine
contemporary issues through multiple ongoing exhibits, highlighted by the
ongoing Defining Sustainability
season. Defining Sustainability
is a series of dynamic and interactive projects to illustrate
sustainability ideas on display at the ASU Art
Museum and its Ceramics Research Center through January, 2010. Other
featured exhibitions include the latest subject of the Social Studies project,
Jillian McDonald: Alone Together in the
Dark, and I’m Keeping an Eye On
You, a video exploration of the broad and lasting effects of our
curiosity in and intrusions upon others.