Art Research Center
Encyclopedia
The Art Research Center was founded in Kansas City, Missouri
, in 1964 by constructivist
artist Thomas Michael Stephens.
ARC grew out of the new center U.S. art cooperative gallery which was dissolved in 1964 when the original idea for ARC was conceived. The founders of this gallery were part of an “abstract” segment of the 15 artists in the co-op. Their background and impetus was partially influenced by the Bauhaus and Moholy-Nagy and the new Bauhaus in Chicago.
International exhibits focused on multi-disciplinary experiments in constructive arts, exploring the relationship between art, science and technology and expositing issues of sensory perception with aesthetic structures.
At least one of the ARC Welders concerts received favorable reviews from The Kansas City Star
.
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, in 1964 by constructivist
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
artist Thomas Michael Stephens.
ARC grew out of the new center U.S. art cooperative gallery which was dissolved in 1964 when the original idea for ARC was conceived. The founders of this gallery were part of an “abstract” segment of the 15 artists in the co-op. Their background and impetus was partially influenced by the Bauhaus and Moholy-Nagy and the new Bauhaus in Chicago.
International exhibits focused on multi-disciplinary experiments in constructive arts, exploring the relationship between art, science and technology and expositing issues of sensory perception with aesthetic structures.
ARC timeline and exhibits
| Date | Exhibits |
|---|---|
| 1963 | New Center United States Artists Gallery at 9th & Delaware. First artist owned and operated abstract cooperative gallery in the Midwest. |
| 1964 | |
| 1965 | |
| 1966 | Art Research Center First Exhibition: October 29 – November 6 (or 26) Kansas City MO Public Library, 12th & Oak. Second Exhibition: January 14 – February 4, at the Kansas City KS Public Library, 625 Minnesota Ave. |
| 1967 | Third Exhibition and panel symposium: April 8 - May 9 Linda Hall Library of Science and Technology, 5109 Cherry, Kansas City, Missouri. Symposium topic: The Relationships of Art and Science and Technology. |
| 1968 | 1. Anonima Studio Gallery, 40 W 28th St. New York, New York. Art Research Center Group Exhibit – May 20 – June 20 included six artists, 33 works, conjunctive symposium/talk, electronic music. Artists included Patrick Manley “Transformations.” 2. Announced new “center” for the Center – 3 floors, 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²). 3. A. R. C. Group Exhibition and Opening of new center headquarters in October. 4. Film-makers Seminar series – August. Participants included William Westerman, Larry Bowser, Dave Peeples, William Peterson, Eliot Gage, Lee Clark. 5. Sound Environment Seminar - November. Electronic Music Audio Research Development Studio Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri. Electronic Music Concert with non-associative projected light environment – organized by Patrick Manley. 6. Science in Art Seminars – December: “Creative Problem-Solving for Design in Game Format” John Abbick and “Geometry in Art and Architecture” and Stanley Tigerman. Held in old ice cream factory downtown Kansas City, Missouri. 7. The Art and Architecture of Stanley Tigerman—February. Exhibition (being a total immediate survey of the international, inter-disciplinary works of Tigerman) |
| 1969 | New Tendency Exhibit in Zagreb Zagreb Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city... , Yugoslavia in May. New artists and associates: Peter Clapp (Boston), Gary Rice – computer programmer, Laurence Booth, Zbiginew Blazieje (Toronto, Ontario multi-media artist), Stanley Tigerman (Architect, Chicago Ill), Frank Millich, David Garrison, Philip J. van Voorst (Missouri). |
| 1970 | Address 4808 Troost Acquired exhibit space at the Trolley Barn, Kansas City, MO. Toronto balloon show |
| 1971 | Art Research Center at 922 East 48th Street, across from the old Trolley Barn. Andreas Weininger's "Mechanical Revue" |
| 1972 | |
| 1973 | International Matrix Exhibition in Padua, Italy |
| 1974 | "Fire and Ice" William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City Missouri |
| 1979 | 1. City Celebration – May 27 “Spacenet” with "A Fair-for-All" a balloon structure at Volker Park, Kansas City, MO. 2. "Warped Planes in Space" 41st & Main, T.M. Stephens Kansas City, Missouri. 3. Brick building at 2nd & Delaware, Kansas City, Missouri. |
| 1980 | International Conference of Constructive Art in Architectonic Space Hamburg, Germany. |
| 1981 | 1. "Constructivism and the Geometric Tradition" (paper) Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, Missouri 2. TELIC 2 Group Exhibit. |
| 1986 | 20th anniversary TELIC 3 Exhibit, 175 artists, 300 works of art, 22 countries. |
ARC artists and associates
The ARC Welders
The Art Research Center often recruited artists and musicians to participate in live music concerts. These concerts included improvised ensemble works by the "ARC Welders." The ARC Welders in general, consisted of the musicians who happened to be participating in any given event.At least one of the ARC Welders concerts received favorable reviews from The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
.
Former ARC Welders and others involved
- Kevin Kissinger, electronic musician
- Michael Corbett
- Dan Doran
- Ralph Mohr
- Gaylon Umbarger
- Bob Scagliotti
- Wayne Yockey