Adopting the A/B side structure of a 45 rpm pop record of years past Party Party in a Tweety Land b/w This Republic of Suffering contemplates the tensions between suffering and denial, grief and self-absorption, and the real losses buried under the flotsam of a consumer and celebrity obsessed culture.

In a world where the human suffering inflicted by wars, natural disasters, hunger, drug addiction and other natural and manmade causes feels ever-present, people are increasingly becoming numb to the plight of others. Overwhelmed by the enormity of suffering and mired in frustration with how to alleviate it, some retreat into private worlds. Others distract themselves with celebrity infatuation or indulge in decadent behavior to keep the world at bay. Some find transcendence and meaning for their own suffering through religious models.

The exhibition was co-curated by Colleen Sheehy, director of education at the Weisman Art Museum, and Camille J. Gage, a Minneapolis artist and co-founder of Form + Content Gallery,