A Trojan Horse in San Jose?

In conjunction with the 01SJ Biennial, the San Jose Museum of Art and ZERO1 have commissioned artists Scott Kildall and Victoria Scott to present Gift Horse (2010). Gift Horse is an approximately thirteen-foot-high sculpture that refers to the mythological Trojan horse. Originally built as a digital model in the virtual world of Second Life, it will be recreated it in physical form with high-quality digital textures. Unlike the Trojan Horse at Troy, this Trojan Horse will bear gifts and signal celebrations for all who attend.

On Saturday, September 18, the artists will reenact the Greek saga and “gift” their monumental creation to the San Jose Museum of Art. After appearing in the 01SJ Biennial’s “Green Prix,” which begins at 11 a.m., the sculpture, accompanied by people costumed as Greek warriors, will travel through the streets of San Jose to the Museum, arriving at approximately 12:30 p.m. At 4 p.m., they will parade the giant horse, made almost entirely of green and recyclable materials, through the streets of San Jose and then to the museum. After delivering Gift Horse in a public ceremony, they will open a trap door in the body, releasing everyone’s artwork into the museum.

The artists invite the public to come to South Hall, site of the Biennial’s “Out of the Garage, Into the World” exhibition, between now and September 14 to build brightly colored geometric paper models of viruses. The viruses include fictional viruses such as “The Andromeda Strain” and the “T-virus” from “Resident Evil; computer viruses such as Snow Crash, and biological viruses such as foot-in-mouth disease. Makers will place the viruses in the body of the horse to be released during the Saturday ceremony. The paper sculpting workshops are offered on September 9 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., September 10 from 3 to 5 p.m., on September 11 and 12 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 5 p.m., and on September 14 from 12 to 2 p.m. Details and registration information are available at www.01SJ.org.

The public can also participate in any of the other 25 projects by artists, designers and architects held at South Hall, an 80,000 square foot warehouse. These collective workshops, called Out of the Garage, Into the World, will culminate in the Green Prix, a carbon-neutral parade, starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 18, where Gift Horse will begin its journey to the San Jose Museum of Art.

In the museum, Gift Horse will join the exhibition Retro-Tech, on view through February 6, 2011. Kildall’s and Scott’s project No Matter, which is a series of paper sculptures of “imaginary objects” such as the holy Grail, the Maltese Falcon and the Yellow Submarine, is also featured in the exhibition.

Gift Horse is being made in partnership with Electric Works, a San Francisco-based fine art press. It will be produced using water-based inks on biodegradable sheets and constructed of almost 110% recycled wood.

Retro Tech, organized for the 2010 01SJ Biennial, is presented with the support of ZER01, 1st ACT, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The 2010 01SJ Biennial—themed “Build Your Own World”—takes place September 16-19, and transforms downtown San Jose into a citywide exhibition featuring hundreds of projects including 50+ new art commissions, live performances, exhibitions, concerts, film, participatory projects, public art, multimedia opera, public workshops and much more. Participating cultural partners include: Anno Domini, CADRE: New Media Lab, Children’s Discovery Museum, MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose Public Art Program, and The Tech

The San Jose Museum of Art is located at 110 South Market Street in downtown San Jose, California. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students and senior citizens, and free to members and children under 6. For more information, call 408-271-2787 or visit www.SanJoseMuseumofArt.org.