Don’t Know, We’ll See: The Work of Karen Karnes
Written and Directed by Lucy Massie Phenix
Available September 8th – 15th, 2020
Featuring a response by Anna Helgeson
We are celebrating recent gifts of works by Black Mountain College instructor in pottery Karen Karnes with this limited time screening of the documentary Don’t Know We’ll See and a response to the revolutionary life of Karen Karnes from artist and curator, Anna Helgeson.
This documentary by award-winning filmmaker Lucy Massie Phenix is an intimate study of the work and life of master clay artist, Karen Karnes. It takes the viewer into her creative process, into the evolution of a single sculptural piece, and into Karnes’ body of work of over 60 years.
An Introduction + Response by Anna Helgeson
Don’t Know We’ll See: The Work of Karen Karnes
No longer available.
New to the BMCM+AC Collection
Thanks to the generosity of George and Kathy Dambach and Rob Williams, BMCM+AC welcomes these exemplary works by Karen Karnes into our permanent collection.
Boulder, Untitled Vessel, c. 2001. Gift of Rob Williams.
Lidded Casserole, Double Spouted Vessel, c. 1990. Gift of Rob Williams.
Lidded Soup Tureen, c. 1980s. Gift of George and Kathy Dambach.
Vessel (sliced, lidded), c. 1980s. Gift of George and Kathy Dambach.
Lidded Casserole Dish, c. 1980s. Gift of George and Kathy Dambach.
Vessel with Extended Neck, c. 2015. Gift of Rob Williams.
Lucy Massie Phenix has a long history of community organizing and teaching and has been making social documentary films for 20 years. Her film credits include: Producer, Director and Co-Editor of YOU GOT TO MOVE, a film about grass roots social change in the South; Editor of THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ROSIE THE RIVETERr, the compilation film classic on government propaganda and women working in the skilled trades during World War II; Co-Director and Co-Editor of WORD IS OUT, the acclaimed documentary on the experiences of 26 gay men and lesbians; and collaborator on the Winterfilm Collective’s film WINTERSOLDIER, a documentary about and with Vietnam Veterans Against the War which received high accolades at the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals. She has also served as Consulting Editor on many films including BERKELEY IN THE SIXTIES, COMMON THREADS, and ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE. (08/12)
Anna Helgeson is an artist, educator, writer and curator living in Asheville, North Carolina. Interested in the history of othering, Helgeson gravitates towards topics related to race, gender, and queerness. She received a BA from Ripon College, and a MFA (Cum Laude) from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She has exhibited, performed, and lectured throughout the United States including at Work Gallery (Detroit, MI), The Milwaukee Art Museum, Lucky Star Gallery (Milwaukee, WI), MIAD (Milwaukee, WI), University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Union Gallery, Rose Street Gallery (Burlington, VT), The University of North Carolina, Asheville Queer Studies Conference (Asheville, NC), Revolve Gallery (Asheville, NC) and is featured on the website “Reframing Photography; Theory and Practice” (Routledge Press).
She has curated exhibitions on topics ranging from rejection (Dust on the Corner Gallery) to pin-up culture (Broad Vocabulary), she is part of the photo+ team orchestrating gatherings in Asheville to spotlight the intersection of photography and culturally relevant topics, and teaches craft history and theory at Warren Wilson College.
