Ted Purves (1964 – July 4, 2017) was an American artist, educator, and independent

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

living in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, California. He was the chair of the first

Social Practice Social practice is a theory within psychology that seeks to determine the link between practice and context within social situations. Emphasized as a commitment to change, social practice occurs in two forms: activity and inquiry. Most often a ...

graduate program in the US, at the

California College of the Arts California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996 it opened a second campus in San ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Central to Purves' interests were the

gift economy A gift economy or gift culture is a system of exchange where valuables are not sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. Social norms and customs govern giving a gift in a gift culture; although there ...

, and the distribution of free goods and services by artists.

Publications

Purves edited ''What We Want Is Free: Generosity and Exchange in Recent Art'', published by

SUNY Press The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

in 2005. It includes essays by curators

Bill Arning Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

, Kate Fowle and Lars Bang Larsen,

Mary Jane Jacob Mary Jane Jacob is an American curator, writer, and educator from Chicago, Illinois. She is a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is the Executive Director of Exhibitions and Exhibition Studies. She has held posts as Chief C ...

and artists

Ben Kinmont Ben Kinmont (born 1963) is an artist, publisher, and antiquarian bookseller living in Sebastopol, California, United States. His work is concerned with the value structures surrounding an art practice and what happens when that practice is displa ...

, Jörgen Svensson, Guy Overfelt,

Jeanne van Heeswijk Jeanne van Heeswijk (born 1965) is a Dutch visual artist and curator. Her work often focuses on social practice art, or the relationship between space, geography and urban renewal. She lives and works in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. From 1983-19 ...

, and an interview with Cesare Pietroiusi by Shane Aslan Selzer. It also includes a Projects Histories section with short descriptions of dozens of related projects.

The Momentary Academy

''The Momentary Academy'' was a temporary school realized at the

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is a multi-disciplinary contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that celebrates local, natio ...

, during the Bay Area Now 4 exhibition. It offered free classes to the public led by artists in the exhibition. Classes involved practical as well as experimental subjects, and ranged from single workshop sessions to weekly meetings. Classes offered included ''Marco Polo's Favorite Potstickers: A Cross Cultural Cooking Lesson'' by Edie Tsong; ''The Lost & Found Society'' by

Joseph del Pesco Joseph Thomas Del Pesco is a contemporary art curator and arts writer. He is currently the International Director of Kadist. Biography He holds a 2005 Masters of Arts degree in Curatorial Practice from the California College of the Arts. He wa ...

and Alex Burke; ''The Power of Breath'' by Helena Keeffe; ''Changing Patterns: Contemporary Clothing Construction and Design Innovation'' by Scatha G Allison; ''Paper Parlour'' by Christine Shields; ''Paper, 8.5" x 11", White.'' by Tommy Becker; ''The Medium is the Message'' by Josh Greene; ''Mindscapes'' by Fred Loomis; ''Spoken Word Spoken'' by Chris Kubick; ''Sacred Geometry'' by Ezra Li Eismont; and finally ''Perfect Models: Inventing Schools as Works of Art'' by Ted Purves with special guest

Jon Rubin Jon Rubin is a contemporary artist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Projects Fruit and Other Things ''Fruit and Other Things'' (2018-2019) is a project created in collaboration with artist Len ...

Temescal Amity Works

''Temescal Amity Works'' is a public project in

, California involving the free distribution of locally grown fruit, and the exchange of information and services in a neighborhood diverse in race and class that is in the process of redefining itself amidst the pressures of

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

and development.

References

External links

AmityWorks Project information

Social Practice at CCA.edu

Ted Purves at CCA.edu

What We Want is Free

Creative Capital - Amity Works Page

* ttp://badatsports.com/2010/episode-249-ted-purves/ Ted Purves' Interview with Bad At Sports {{DEFAULTSORT:Purves, Ted 1964 births American art curators American contemporary artists Artists from the San Francisco Bay Area 2017 deaths