Opening Reception: Sunday, May 10 / 2 – 6pm (rain or shine)

Margarita Cabrera Jennifer Cecere Emily Feinstein Charles Gute Jeanine Oleson Risa Puno Dana Sherwood & the Black Forest Fancies Stephen Shore Jason Simon William Stone Bernard Williams

Opening Day Performances at State Fair: Dana Sherwood & The Black Forrest Fancies present… CAKEWALK an old-fashioned, country fair-style cakewalk with a twist! Cakewalk will take place amid the artists’ carnival wagon installation, “The Ladies’ Society of Alchemical Agriculture “. Viewers will be encouraged to participate at the beginning of the game at 4pm. All are welcome.

The Big Apple Showdown Spectacular by Risa Puno Celebrate your everyday city skills and knowledge with urban themed games like “The Masters of Multi-Tasking,” a timed obstacle course where players scramble to send text messages, balance coffee, eat pizza and more! Visitors can register to participate on-site and should wear sneakers and comfortable clothing. The Big Apple Showdown Spectacular games will take place throughout the opening reception on Sunday, May 10, 2-6pm.

Curated by Alyson Baker, Mark Dion and Marichris Ty, State Fair is a group exhibition themed around American rural life and uses the platform of the state fair as a means to examine topics such as animal husbandry, specialized horticulture, small scale farming, culinary arts, and the pageantry within these fields that occurs at fairgrounds across the country. The show will also incorporate work that references traditional craft, and the myriad of amusements, rides, competitions and entertainment that are presented as part of state fairs.

State Fair will feature works by Margarita Cabrera, Jennifer Cecere, Emily Feinstein, Charles Gute, Jeanine Oleson, Risa Puno, Dana Sherwood and the Black Forest Fancies, Stephen Shore, Jason Simon, William Stone, and Bernard Williams, and several projects have been commisioned specifically for this exhibition.

The works of both Risa Puno and Dana Sherwood & The Black Forrest Fancies feature interactive performance components that will operate on specific event dates throughout the exhibition, beginning with the opening reception on Sunday, May 10, 2009, 2-6pm (see box above). Risa Puno will present a second installment of “The Big Apple Showdown Spectacular” during the Park’s annual Summer Solstice Celebration, on Sunday, June 21, 5pm-sunset. Also on June 21, artist Jeanine Oleson has invited a group of girls from a local 4-H club to present and talk about their horses, examining the undying connection between girls and horses that inspired her installation at the Park.

State Fair will also include an online video component by artist Jason Simon, which will be featured with the launch of Socrates Sculpture Park’s new website in May 2009. Viewers will be able to see the piece within the Exhibition section of the site at www.socratessculpturepark.org. Additionally, Simon has created posters announcing the video, in a style that echoes traditional state fair posters.