pOW BANg kaBOOm Referring to the cosmic explosion due to a dense, hot state that resulted in the hurling of matter in all directions – and, possibly, the creation of the universe – The Big Bang exhibition is a hot, very dense and, hopefully at times, explosive convergence of artists who demonstrate astronomer Edwin Hubble’s observation that the “universe” is continually and ever-expanding. And if these artists in The Big Bang don’t literally demonstrate that the universe is expanding, then perhaps they demonstrate that what we come to define as our own universes are expanding, exponentially, through small- and medium-sized explosions that, cumulatively, have the effect of changing the way we view the world. And ultimately, perhaps, these minor explosions change the world itself. Some of the artists in The Big Bang have chosen to pursue their careers far from the school and city that nurtured them. Whether this has meant pursuing graduate education or striking out on their own in an unfamiliar environment, they have been pushing the envelope in terms of what constitutes their art form, their media, their discipline. Many have chosen careers and lives for themselves that are not the formulaic “path-to-success” that was written for them in the standardized pitch/blurb/brochure but, rather, have chosen to create their own standard for success. Many of these young artists, designers, and crafts-persons live and work in Northeast Ohio. They are saluted for their commitment to the region, the community and for the quality of the artistic presence they contribute to the city of Cleveland. These artists make this region a vital, exciting place to live, and serve as an example to the younger generation of artists  who will, in turn, carry on the legacy of The Cleveland Institute of Art, which has strong ties to the artistic community in this city. While many of these young artists, designers and crafts-persons have pursued their initial interests in a particular area or art form and deepened their knowledge, their intellect, their commitment to a particular craft, many have migrated from their initial impulses. In The Big Bang, one also sees a sculptor-cum-designer, a jeweler morph into an installation artist, a sculptor who turns to painting, a printmaker who becomes a web designer. Regardless of form, content or media, they have gone where the work has taken them, whether or not there was a specific “program” in place, or a “subject” to pursue, and have created their own hybridization/combination/bastardization without thought to whether it is called “art,” “design” or “crafts.” This generation resists labels, refuses to be pigeon-holed and rarely seeks definitive answers to worldly questions of any nature. But, as they exhibit their work in New York, Chicago, California; get written about in ArtForum, The New York Times, Art in America, I.D. Magazine; and are celebrated as rising stars in the visual arts, design and crafts, they carry with them and spread the core values of CIA — namely that art, design and crafts need to be both visually and intellectually engaging in order to contribute to society. There are several other things one can glean from this exhibition (in no particular order): The visual arts are alive and well; boundaries are a thing of the past; where one begins is often different than where one may end up; CIA produces artists who are contributing important, innovative, current, engaging work all across this country. — Julie Langsam Head, Painting Department, The Cleveland Institute of Art Director, Kacalieff Visiting Artists & Scholars Program     Acknowledgments The exhibition The Big Bang would not have exploded into the troposphere without the enthusiastic support and hard work of the following people: The artists, David Deming, Susan Channing, Saul Ostrow, Sarah Wiideman, Bruce Checefsky, David Carrier, Jenmarie Zeleznak, Maria Ecks, Susan Kandzer, Michael Cole, Nicole Edwards, Sarah Hoyt, Sarah Beiderman, Marilyn Simmons, Susan Vincent, Benjamin Gleisser, Kesha Boyce Williams and Kelly Bird. Many thanks to Gary Johnson and the Board of Directors of CIA, John Williams and the Board of Directors of SPACES for making this exhibition possible.