My friend Steven is one of the curators of this exhibit. It looks great:

The exhibition “For Reasons of State” makes knowledge available to the public that is otherwise censored or misrepresented due to governmental and/or corporate influence. This counter-information challenges the security claims and property rights that limit public access. Artworks by Bik van der Pol, the Bureau of Inverse Technology, Jenny Holzer, Lin + Lam, Mark Lombardi, Julia Meltzer and David Thorne, Trevor Paglen, Ben Rubin, and Susan Schuppli acknowledge the value of concealed information and its crucial function in constructing alternative histories. Foreshadowing the upcoming presidential election, this exhibition addresses the ability of citizens to function as a democracy in the face of governmental secrecy. The artworks prompt viewers to consider exchanging the frequently deployed phrase “need-to-know” with the more democratic “right-to-know.”

For Reasons of State: MAY 16 TO JUNE 7, 2008

The Kitchen

512 West 19th Street

New York, NY 10011

OPENING RECEPTION

Friday, May 16, 2008 5–8 pm

Curated by the Whitney Museum Independent Studies Helena Rubinstein Curatorial Fellows: Erica Cooke, Angelique Campens, and Steven Lam

PANEL DISCUSSION, May 31, 5 pm

With Karen Beckman, Peter Galison, Thomas Y. Levin, Lin + Lam, moderated by Yates McKee

see link and attachment for more information:

http://whitney.org/www/email_images/pemail10.html

FYI: The ISP Studio program opening is at the old DIA in Chelsea on Saturday, May 17.