TERRA INCOGNITA WILL SHOW YOU THE WAY 

The Imagination is Deconstructed in the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis' Upcoming Exhibition

	ST. LOUIS, February 22, 2002 - Ever get lost? Have you been driving somewhere and all of a sudden find yourself face to face with another car and realize you're on a one way street...going the wrong way? Then you need a map. The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (the Contemporary), formerly Forum for Contemporary Art, announces its upcoming exhibition Terra Incognita: Contemporary Artist's Maps and Other Visual Organizing Systems, which will open with a public reception from 6-8 p.m., Friday, May 17. 

	 "Terra Icognita revolves around the idea that maps are a construct of the human imagination," said Mel Watkin, curator, the Contemporary, "A construct that people around the world accept as a reality." 

	Maps have become somewhat of a universal language or truth, similar to mathematics. For example, 1+1=2; people will never argue whether or not that is true and it will always serve as a basic foundation of what is true or real. Everyday people look at symbols and immediately recognize whether that symbol denotes a town or city, major or minor roads or important buildings. 

	"Maps, graphs and technical drawings help people understand huge expanses of space, complex ideas and structures," said Watkin. "In doing so, they express our opinions about the world and make ‘visual' the workings of the human mind. At the same time, maps also can be manipulated to present a particular worldview or political perspective." 

	Terra Incognita: Contemporary Artists' Maps and Other Visual Organizing Systems 

	The artists in Terra Incognita: Contemporary Artists' Maps and Other Visual Organizing Systems have adopted, altered and adulterated maps, graphs and technical drawings for their own visual purposes. Some of the artist's work directly on previously created geographical maps, some play with geographic, financial or political signs and symbols, while others use technical drawings to map out the way human's think. 

	Artists in this exhibition include: Michael Banicki (Chicago), Nina Bovasso (New York), Greg Colson (Los Angeles), Guillermo Kuitca (Buenos Aires), Ron Laboray (St. Louis), Julie Mehretu (New York), Mark Lombardi (New York), Sabina Ott (San Francisco), Kathy Prendergast (Dublin) and Lordy Rodriguez (Houston). Terra Incognita: Contemporary Arists' Maps and Other Visual Organizing Systems will be on display at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis from May 17-July 27. 

	The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, founded in 1981 as the First Street Forum, is a leading institution for contemporary art exhibitions in an innovative environment with community partnerships, education programs and outreach. Offering six to eight critically acclaimed exhibitions each year, the Contemporary presents the work of artists who are at the forefront of the regional, national and international art scene. 

	The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is currently located in Grand Center, St. Louis' arts and entertainment district, at 3540 Washington Blvd. and is open to the public from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday; admission is free. For more information about the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, its exhibitions, memberships, education programs or Capital Campaign, please call (314) 535-4660 or visit www.forumart.org.