Rediscovering Our Political Voice

New Haven-based sculptor/painter, performance artist and teacher David Livingston will offer himself as a fictitious candidate for office in a mock speech to be delivered at The Ferguson Library this Saturday afternoon, December 3, using as his template the familiar tropes of national pride, gender, race and class, bound together by the provocative, yet deliberately imprecise imagery and language so typical of the mainstream political scene.

What makes this appeal distinctive from the canned character of the “real” thing is that

David’s presentation will be shaped by dozens of questions submitted to him by library patrons prior to the event—in response to a disarmingly convincing campaign video displayed in the library lobby since November 3.

In the aftermath of one of the most polarizing presidential elections in national history, Livingston’s “Vote Your Conscience” provides an opportunity to expand the conversation,  in the words of Terri C. Smith of Franklin Street Works, for the “many people living in the U.S. (who) find themselves to be more introspective than ever about what it means to be an American.”  

untitled, 2010

David is co-sponsoring his performance with the downtown art space/café and the library; "Vote Your Conscience" is part of the Ferguson’s contribution to The Aspen Institute’s national project “What Every American Should Know”, funded through a Regional Initiative Grant awarded to the library by the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County, in partnership with the Connecticut Office of the Arts. David is an adjunct professor at the University of New Haven and Gateway Community College; he received his MFA from Pratt and has exhibited nationally.

After the presentation, be sure to join him at a reception at Franklin Street Works, just a block down from the library.

Both the performance and reception are free and open to the public.

Performance:

Third Floor Auditorium

The Ferguson Library

1 Public Library Plaza

Stamford, CT 06901

3-4 pm

Artist Reception:

Franklin Street Works

41 Franklin Street

Stamford, CT 06901

4:15-5:30 pm

Contact:

Terri C Smith

Creative Director

Franklin Street Works

203-253-0404