April 29-May 5, 2004

cover story

Nothing Ventures, Nothing Gains

Your guide to the hows, whens and wheres of "The Big Nothing."

Abington Art Center

515 Meetinghouse Rd., Jenkintown, 215-887-4882, www.abingtonartcenter.org

"No Boundaries," July 22-Aug. 27, reception July 22, 6-8 p.m., prints by Janet Towbin revealing the process of change in Carborundum etchings from dark to light.

African American Museum in Philadelphia

701 Arch St., 215-574-0380, www.aampmuseum.org

"Defying Invisibility: Black Independent Film and Filmmakers," May 1-Aug. 31, documentaries including Louis Massiah's W.E.B DuBois, William Greaves' A Passion for Justice and Haile Gerima's Sankofa.

American Philosophical Society

Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St., 215-440-3400, www.amphilsoc.org

"Black Holes and the American Philosophical Society," June 16, 6:30 p.m., inspired by the APS's Black Holes Collection.

Arcadia University Art Gallery

Spruance Art Center, 450 Easton Rd., Glenside, 215-572-2131, www.arcadia.edu

"Open," June 9-July 31, reception, June 20, 8 p.m., invisible or barely perceptible artworks including conceptual pieces from the '60s and site-specific works made specifically for this exhibition. An installation by Olafur Eliasson coincides with the closing of the "The Big Nothing" in August.

Arthur Ross Gallery

University of Pennsylvania, 220 S. 34th St., 215-898-2083, www.upenn.edu/ARG

"Café Nothing," July-August, visitors interact with and respond to ideas and nonexistent objects.

Basekamp

723 Chestnut St., second floor, 215-206-8176, www.basekamp.com

"Strike," July 9-Aug. 20, reception, July 9, 6-10 p.m., large-scale exhibition curated by Gavin Wade, involving 125 artists, curators, architects and writers.

The Clay Studio

139 N. Second St., 215-925-3453, www.theclaystudio.org

Mahmoud Baghaeian, Pascal Chlemar and Bernardo Hogan, June 4-27, reception, June 4, 5-9 p.m., inspired by a quote from Lao Tse: "We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move."

Eastern State Penitentiary

22nd St. and Fairmount Ave., 215-236-3300, www.easternstate.org

Through Nov. 28: "The Ghost Cats," Linda Brenner's white plaster casts commemorate three decades of cats at the penitentiary. "Cellblock Nine," Ian the Jackson's projections link past prisoners to the invisible inmates of today. "142 Ways to Mark Time," Timothy Nohe's 142 audio recordings of ambient sounds.

Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site

532 N. Seventh St., 215-597-8780, www.nps.gov/edal

Guided tours, conducted on the hour, of the house that inspired some of Poe's most famous tales.

"The Empty House Tour," June12, 13, 19 and 20, 2 p.m., led by poet Tom Devaney exploring the empty space of the house.

The Fabric Workshop and Museum

1315 Cherry St., fifth and sixth floors, 215-568-1111, www.fabricworkshopandmuseum.org

Two installations, June 18-Aug. 14: "Phat Free," David Hammons' 1995-96 video installation wherein nothing of consequence happens. "No," Sharon Lockhart's film meditation on a radical form of Japanese flower arranging. Selections from the Permanent Collection, May-Sept. 2, prints produced through the FWM's artists-in-residence program.

Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial and The Philadelphia Print Collaborative

719 Catharine St., 215-922-3456, www.fleisher.org, www.printcollaborative.org

"Several Steps Removed," July 5-Aug. 6, reception, July 9, 5:30-7:30 p.m., sequences of prints reveal the concept of the void as central to a process.

Gershman Y

The Borowsky Gallery at The Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad St., 215-446-3027, www.gershmany.org

"Subtle Nothings: Extraordinary Simple Multi-media Works," May 2-Aug. 30, reception Sun., May 2, 5-8 p.m., multimedia works by Andy Holtin, Meridith Monk, Chris Vecchio, more.

InLiquid.com

123 N. Orianna St., 215-592-1310, www.inliquid.com

"Avoid," May 1-Aug. 1, online project on how silence and absence can serve as an organizing principle, by Susan Arthur, Rena Leinberger, Jane Marshing, Julia Marsh and Trevor Paglen.

Institute of Contemporary Art

University of Pennsylvania, 118 S. 36th St., 215-573-9975, www.icaphila.org

"The Big Nothing," May 1-Aug. 1, reception, April 30, 6-8 p.m., more than 60 artists' works from 1970 to the present on void, the ineffable, the sublime, refusal, nihilism, zero. "Whenever Wednesday," Wed., July 21, 8 p.m., Nothing Cabaret, poetry, music, sleight of hand, silence and a screening of Andy Warhol's Sleep at dusk (9 p.m.). "A Conversation About the Big Nothing," June 3, 6:30-8 p.m., panel discussion on negative theology, language, law and mysticism, with live and prerecorded multimedia presentations, moderated by poet Tom Devaney. Presented by Kelly Writers House. "Entr'acte," July 15-16, continuous showings 10 a.m.- 6 p.m., new music ensemble Relâche presents an audio installation that restages René Clair's cinematic Entr'acte. Space 1026 will revise Picabia's original broadside campaign with posters for Relâche throughout the city.

International House of Philadelphia

3701 Chestnut St., 215-387-5125, www.ihousephilly.org

The Exterminating Angel, July 16, 8 p.m., $5-$6, Director Luis Buñuel's 1962 film about guests trapped at a dinner party. "Three Short Films About Nothing," July 17, 8 p.m., $5-$6, FluxFilm Program (George Maciunas, 1970) anthology of works by adherents to the Fluxus film movement: Yoko Ono, John Cale and Nam June Paik. N:O:T:H:I:N:G (Paul Sharits, 1968) based on the Tibetan Mandala of the Five Dhyani Buddhas. The Flicker (Tony Conrad, 1966) continuous strobophobic flicker effect of great complexity.

Lighting for Urban Rooftop Environments (LURE)

931 Carpenter St., 215-922-2410, www.lureprojects.org

"Dust," May-July, accumulation of gestures throughout the city by artists Joy Feasley, Tristin Lowe, New Humans, Paul Swenbeck and Richard Torchia. Torchia's public artwork Shade Tree will be inaugurated in June 2004.

Main Line Art Center

Old Buck Rd. and Lancaster Ave., Haverford, 610-525-0272, www.mainlineart.org

"Past Presence: Contemporary Reflections on the Main Line," April 24-Oct. 22, the Main Line's history and environment are examined in newly commissioned works by Bob Braine, Mark Dion, Kelly Kaczynski and Nari Ward investigating material culture through yard-sale finds. The artists' proposals will be on display from April 16 to May 16.

Mütter Museum

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 19 S. 22nd St., 215-563-3737, www.collphyphil.org

"9 Mütter XX04," May 19-June 11, reception May 18, 6 p.m., "nothingness" related to blindness, deafness, loss of limbs and death is explained in new works by Karen Kilimnik, Ulrike Mueller and Thomas Zummer. Tour of the exhibition and collection, June 4, 1 p.m., led by the Mütter's Gretchen Worden and ICA's Tanya Leighton.

Nexus

137 N. Second St., 215-629-1103

"Who Died," May 7-30, reception, May 7, 5-9 p.m., retinal afterimage portraits by Nick Cassway.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Broad and Cherry sts., 215-972-7600, www.pafa.org

"The Sublime Landscape," June 19-Aug. 1, Luminist, Hudson River School, pre-Raphaelite and Barbizon School landscapes from the permanent collection.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art

26th St. and the Parkway, 215-763-8100, www.philamuseum.org

"Find Nothing at the PMA!" starting May 1, works from the modern and contemporary collection are highlighted by labels that speak to themes of nothing.

Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art

Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 N. Broad St., 215-627-6747

"Responsa: Eileen Neff, Jennie Shanker and Richard Torchia," April 15-Aug. 15, reception, April 15, 6-8 p.m., themes of absence, dislocation, loss and more are evoked through site-specific works by Eileen Neff, Jennie Shanker and Richard Torchia.

Pig Iron Theatre Company

Date and location to be determined, 215-873-0883, www.pigiron.org

The Neutral Person, July 2004, workshop for non-psychological approaches to theater. Open to student and professional actors, directors and dancers.

The Print Center

1614 Latimer St., 215-735-6090, www.printcenter.org

"Infinitely Visible," April 24-June 26, reception, April 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m., prints by Mike Stifel, depicting the movement of subatomic particles, and photographs by Robert Asman, showing clouds and celestial activity.

Rosenbach Museum & Library

2008 Delancey Place, 215-732-1600, www.rosenbach.org

"R is for Rosenbach: A Primer for a Museum at 50," April 13-15, written materials and labels that make connections between objects and the subjects of nothingness, nonsense or the ordinary.

The University of the Arts

The Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, 333 S. Broad St., 215-717-6480

"Traces," June 15-Aug. 15, tracks traces, stains, indexes, residues, folds, shadows, etc., in art.

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

8480 Hagys Mill Rd., 215-482-7300, www.schuylkillcenter.org, www.philasculptors.org

"Extinct/Extant," July 11-Dec. 30, reception, July 11, 2-5 p.m., includes walking tour with selected artists and the director of land restoration. Sculptors to create new works.

Temple Gallery

Tyler School of Art, 45 N. Second St., 215-925-7379

"Mixmaster Universe," June 4-July 10, reception, June 4, 7-9 p.m., new works by M. Ho, Thom Lessner, Roxana Pèrez-Mèndez and more, inspired by the John Wheeler Archive on Black Holes at the American Philosophical Society.

The University of the Arts

Sol Mednick Gallery, Gallery 1401, 211 S. Broad St., 15th and 14th floors, 215-717-6300, www.uarts.edu

"Any-Place, Any-Time, Nothing-Special, Every-Day," April 30-Aug. 1, reception, April 30, 5-7 p.m., by Michael Lonier, inspired by Hemingway's notion of nada and the gnarled, flat and featureless Florida. "PARADURA," June 4-Aug. 13, Leah Oates blurs gestures, motions and words as fluid constructions. "Discard," June 4-Aug. 13, Lynn Cazabon transforms personal Super 8 films into a digital work of art.

Vox Populi

1315 Cherry St., fourth floor, 215-568-5513, www.voxpopuligallery.org

"Erasure," July 2-Aug. 1, reception, July 2, 6-9 p.m., gallery talk, July 14, 6:30 p.m., group exhibition of local and out-of-town artists pay homage to Robert Rauschenberg's Erased de Kooning Drawing.

Wagner Free Institute of Science

1700 W. Montgomery Ave., 215-763-6529

"Beyond Nothing," June 1-Aug. 13, natural-history specimens used to explore the concepts of zero, infinite space and emptiness in 19th-century scientific thought.

Woodmere Art Museum

9201 Germantown Ave., 215-247-0476, www.woodmereartmuseum.org

"No Big Thing," May 1-Aug. 1, sculptor Gary Miller's 16-foot-tall "nothing." "Something From Nothing," July 11-Aug. 1, drawings and sculptures created by children (ages 8-12) with artist Jonathan Hertzel in a studio class. (Class runs June 28-July 9, call 215-247-0948.)