The Walker Art Center welcomes artist Mark Bradford to the stage of the Walker Cinema on Sunday, April 19, at 2 pm to share the creative process behind his sweeping and structurally compelling mixed-media works. Most recently seen at the Walker in the 2007 exhibition Brave New Worlds, Bradford’s art draws heavily on his native Los Angeles, referencing events ranging from civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s to contemporary protests concerning immigration issues. Using scavenged materials to create wall-sized collages and installations, Bradford responds to the impromptu networks—underground economies, migrant communities, or popular appropriation of abandoned public spaces—that emerge within a city.
For this talk, Bradford discusses his work, including a project for the recent Prospect.1 New Orleans exhibition: a 22-foot-high wooden ark built from the shell of a destroyed house and discarded material from the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. His lecture is copresented with Art21 in conjunction with the National Art Education Association national conference, April 16–21 in Minneapolis.
Since its inception, the Walker’s Mack Lecture series has presented discussions of critical issues in art history, contemporary art practice, and literature by leaders in the field whose ideas inform our world. Previous Mack lecturers include artist Dan Graham, critic Claire Bishop, art historian Hayden Herrera, and Walker director Olga Viso.
Bradford’s lecture will be webcast live and archived on the Walker Channel (channel.walkerart.org). Free tickets are available at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk one hour before the event.