It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq

It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq, is a new commission by British artist Jeremy Deller. In an effort to encourage the public to discuss the present circumstances in Iraq, a revolving cast of participants including veterans, journalists, scholars, and Iraqi nationals who have expertise in a particular aspect of the region and/or first-hand experience of Iraq have been invited to take up residence in the Hammer Museum’s gallery space. The exhibition originated at the New Museum in February 2009 and in March Deller will travel aboard an RV with two selected Iraq experts and a writer, who will document the journey from New York to Los Angeles. The RV will stop at various cultural institutions and community centers along the way to continue the conversation on a national scale, arriving at the Hammer Museum in April, and will travel next fall to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. This exhibition is part of the Three M Project, a series organized by the New Museum, New York; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Hammer Museum