AMERICA'S VIEW OF THE WORLD
AN INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION FOR TEEN
AT THE NEW CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

May 30–July 24, 2009
200 West Island Avenue, San Diego

June 17, 2009—San Diego, California—Middle and high school students are invited to participate in an interactive installation by artist Tim Schwartz that examines how we as Americans view the rest of the world. At the Teen Studio in The New Children?s Museum, visitors participate in America?s View of the World by tearing out newspaper articles and pasting them on a map of the world—the resulting mass of pasted articles creates a topography that represents which countries and places the news media are talking about.

The installation consists of two large table maps made out of wood. One shows North and South America, while the other shows Europe, Asia and Africa. Country names have been left off the maps, in order to challenge visitors? own understanding of the world, but surrounding the gallery are globes, atlases and large maps of the world to be used as reference.

With this project, Schwartz “hopes to let other people engage and understand how the US media portrays the world to us.”

America?s View of the World is on display through July 24 and there will be a public reception on July 23 from 5–7 pm. Participants are encouraged to come back and see the final incarnation of the work, which will include two months worth of news analysis.

More About the Artist
Tim Schwartz works between sculpture, installation and information with a focus on deciphering history and our society. He is the former assistant curator of digital media at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City. Schwartz is currently a Master of Fine Arts candidate at the UC San Diego Department of Visual Arts. His past projects include Fame Game, which maps connections between socialites and celebrities through photographs of red-carpet events; and Paris, which monitors news in real time for articles on Paris Hilton and Paris, France and compares results on an analogue gauge. All projects are viewable at www.timschwartz.org.

About The New Children?s Museum
The New Children's Museum is a dynamic new model of a museum that celebrates children and the visual arts. A non-profit institution funded by memberships and community support, the Museum empowers children to think, play and create with participatory exhibitions, hands-on studio opportunities, and in-depth classroom experiences.

Since opening a new downtown facility in May 2008, The New Children's Museum has been warmly embraced by the community, serving nearly 200,000 visitors in the first year of operation. Designed by San Diego architect Rob Wellington Quigley, the environmentally sustainable building is one of the first "green" museums in California. To learn more or become a Museum member, visit www.thinkplaycreate.org or call 619 233 8792.