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Book of Lies

Melissa Smedley
Water…Or How The West Was Won, 2003
Three page book with accompanying letter, mixed media

 April 7 – May 31, 2014 

Eugenia P. Butler was a Los Angeles-based artist who played a formative but often overlooked role in Conceptual art where she regularly challenged people to explore how they perceive their “reality.” Butler’s Book of Lies project began in 1991 and examined how other artists use “the lie to explore our relationship with the truth.” Known for her collaborations and interactions with other artists, Butler held three artist dinners where she asked her guests to consider the questions, “What is the lie with which I am most complicit” and “What is the truth that most feeds my life?” 

Conceived of as a global conversation about truth and lies held through the medium of works of art and poetry, Butler invited artists to use the lie to explore our relationship with the truth. Book of Lies examines the lie as a human strategy using examples drawn from life situations including childhood, love, and war. Seventy-eight artists responded to these questions in unique and provocative ways, resulting in a body of work curated by Butler and Corazon del Sol titled Book of Lies

Book of Lies is curated by Corazon del Sol and circulated by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California. 

James Cobb
The Big Lie: The Spider and the Fly, 2003
Linocut
Benji Whalen
Rude Constellations, 2004
Hand-embroidered constellation drawing on denim
Jenny Watson
Untitled, 1997
Block print on felt
Steve DeGroodt,and Mary Rakow
Music like this finds all my wounds, 2003
Text collaged paper with gold fabric veil
Eugenia Butler and Corazon delSol
Where does the lie begin?, 2004
2 layer lithograph on handmade Japanese papers, gold threads
and tiny mirror. Envelope made from local topographic maps
Georganne Deen
Mother’s Lies, 1994
Color laserprint, text and collaged lotteria card


Public Program

6:00 pm Wednesday

April 16, 2014

Examining the Book of Lies: Truth, Lies and the Construction of Reality

Corazon del Sol, Artist and Curator

Reception to follow.

This event is free and open to the public.


Exhibition View