The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood is delighted to announce it is the recipient of the $50,000 FAB! Knight New Work Award supported by Funding Arts Broward and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for the exhibit Artist Unknown/The Free World, organized by artists John D. Monteith and Oliver Wasow. This is the single largest grant for a specific exhibition ever to be received by the Center in its 30+ year history. There will also be a published book and a number of special events presented in conjunction with this exhibition which runs from October 29, 2011 through January 29, 2012. John D. Monteith and Oliver Wasow organized this tremendous project from their ongoing dialogue and postings that have taken place on Facebook®.

The U.S. premiere of Artist Unknown/The Free World is the first-of-its-kind exhibition featuring hundreds of images of vernacular photography found online by artists John D. Monteith and Oliver Wasow. From the bizarre to the sublime, these anonymously sourced amateur photographs provide a fascinating view of American culture through the new frontier of social media.

The excitement kicks off with the show’s opening reception Friday, October 28, from 6-9pm. The following day, the public is invited to a free Artist Unknown/The Free World book release event with John D. Monteith, Oliver Wasow and [NAME] Publications’ Gean Moreno, during which the book will be available for purchase as well as a Q&A and book signing with the exhibition organizers from 2 – 4 pm. Immediately following the book release, will be the second talk in the Center’s Hot Topics Discussion Series, funded in part by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge. The Center is honored to present speaker, distinguished art historian, critic and curator Marvin Heiferman, who will give a lecture specifically related to the exhibition from 5-6pm. A reception will precede his talk allowing guests to meet and chat with Heiferman, as well as Monteith and Wasow. A second lecture in the Hot Topics lecture series will take place with internationally acclaimed arts writer Jerry Saltz on Saturday, Dec 10th from 5 -7pm which includes an hour long reception prior to the lecture for attendees a rare opportunity to meet and mingle with Saltz, as well as Monteith and Wasow who will return to South Florida for this very special event. Both Saltz and Heiferman have contributed critical texts to the book accompanying the show, each with their own unique perspective.

Artist Unknown/The Free World is born of countless hours of online conversations between Monteith, who lives and works in Columbia, S.C., and Wasow, who lives in New York. It reflects an emerging genre in contemporary visual culture and the artists’ recognition that in a digital environment the artist’s practice is increasingly migrating from the confines of the studio to the image-rich landscape of the World Wide Web.

Photography has traditionally been the most accessible and enduring visual medium for documenting a personal aesthetic. The advent of social media sites such as Facebook® has democratized photography even further. Artist Unknown/The Free World explores the nature of these developments to look at the different kinds of images that are providing source material to artists.

In addition to the exhibition, the Center is producing an accompanying book of the same title in collaboration with artist Gean Moreno’s [NAME] Publications which is also a recipient of funds from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge. With hundreds of images selected by the artists, the book includes texts by Saltz and Heiferman, as well as the Center’s Curator of Exhibitions Jane Hart, John D. Monteith and Oliver Wasow. The approximately 260-page full color, hardcover book will give an overview of this major exhibition which includes hundreds of anonymous found images culled from the internet by the artist/organizers.

The Artist Unknown/The Free World exhibition includes a selection of photographs that are being shown for exhibition purposes and are not for sale. The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Additional support for this exhibition and book has been made possible in part through the support of Lou Anne and Mike Colodny.