Clam Up

Shat exactly does it mean to work? Is everything that isn’t pure relaxation considered work? Or is work defined by physical labor, or only by activities for which we get paid? Is life itself work? In Sharon Lockhart: Lunch Break, the current exhibition at Washington University’s Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum (Forsyth and Skinker boulevards; 314-935-4523 or www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu), artist Lockhart explores and reports on what makes up the work part of life for some shipbuilders in Maine. Through film installations and photographs, she captures folks on breaks and at the end of the day, offering a richer picture of what work means — and highlighting the fact that more than the work itself forms each workday. In conjunction with the show, Lockhart’s latest film is screened today for free at 4:30 p.m. This 93-minute piece, entitled Double Tide, bears witness to the work of a solitary clam-digger on the coast of Maine. In the film, the clam-digger reaps nature’s rewards of a rare double low tide — and our day off will be enriched for Lockhart having worked alongside her. A free talk relating film and photography in reference to the exhibition precedes the screening of Double Tide; the lecture begins at 3 p.m.
Sat., April 17, 2010