The work and concept of the art collective set up Tim Rollins and the K.O.S (Kids of Survival) will be under discussion this month.
In 1981, American artist and educator Tim Rollins was recruited by the Principal of Intermediate School 52 in South Bronx, New York, to develop a curriculum that combined art-making with lessons in reading and writing for students considered ‘at risk’. On the first day of the school, Rollins told his students: ‘Today we are going to make art, but we are also going to make history.’
Rollins, who was taught by Joseph Kosuth and John Cage, developed with his students, a way of working that combined art-making with reading literature and writing personal narratives. Rollins or a student would read aloud from classic literary texts while the rest of the class drew or wrote on the pages being read, connecting the stories with their own experiences. This method of working became their signature style and since 1982, the group have produced allegorical paintings, sculpture and drawings mining the vast wealth of printed matter.
The collective has gone on to exhibit in major art galleries worldwide, including participation in two Whitney Biennales, Documenta, Venice Biennale and in 2009, a retrospective of the group’s 20-year career opened at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College in 2009, travelling to the Frye Museum in Seattle and the ICA Philadelphia.
This is the first UK showing of their work and features new works created as part of Art and Knowledge workshops led by Tim Rollins and K.O.S with young people aged 13-18 from across the Lothian Region.
Joining us to discuss this fascinating exhibition will be James Clegg, Exhibition Assistant at Talbot Gallery and Visual Culture Lecturer at eca and the University’s Office of Lifelong Learning.
