We are thrilled to announce a new program at Hamiltonian Artists. Our Professional Development Conversation Series or PDCS are small and intimate group discussions over catered meals. Presenters provide contemporary art topics to discuss with the group. 

Our first Professional Development Conversation Series program: Humor and the Abject + Conversation will be on Friday, November 2nd, 7:00 - 9:00 pm. 

A casual conversation with Sean J. Patrick Carney on the relationships between contemporary art and comedy, situated within a larger framework of art's relationship to humor beginning in the early 20th century. This would look at comedy as both a politically subversive tool in art, but also as a regressive and conservative structure in mainstream entertainment. An undercurrent of the abject would run through it, in regard to comedy's relationship to marginalization and the adoption of horror tropes by younger comedians. 

This presentation would draw from courses that Patrick has taught on the subject, as well as his writing on it, and he will be sharing a trajectory of works that blurred the boundaries between sculpture and comic objects, performance art and standup, and happenings and merry pranksterdom.

 Readings:
Carney, Sean J Patrick. "Site-Specific Comedy." Art in America, 2015
Carney, Sean J Patrick. "Watching a Comedy Revolution in Real Time." FOUNDATIONS, 2017
Sims, Martine. "Stages of Laughter 3." Art in America, 2015

Panelist:
Sean J Patrick Carney is an artist and writer in Austin, TX. He is a frequent contributor to Art in America and the host of Humor and the Abject, a weekly podcast on contemporary art and comedy. Previously, Carney was part of the Bruce High Quality Foundation University, an artist-led, tuition-free school in New York City. His performances and studio art have been exhibited at venues including MOCA Los Angeles, CA; MoMA PS1, Queens, NY; Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL; amongst others. He has taught courses at the Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; New York University, New York, NY; Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; and Dia:Beacon, Beacon, NY. 


This PDCS will be at the Oculus Realty's Carriage House located at 2900 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20008