Goings On: posted week of May 9, 2018
CONTENTS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Martha Wilson, León Ferrari, Leon Golub, FF Alumns, selected by Artnet.com among the 10 Best Artworks at Frieze New York 2018
2. Pablo Helguera, Saya Woolfalk, at EFA Studios, Manhattan, May 15
3. Elaine Angelopoulos, Georgia Lale, FF Alumns, at AAA3A The Bronx, opens May 12
4. Ellen Fisher, FF Alumn, at La MaMa, Manhattan, May 25-27
5. Liliana Porter, FF Alumn, at 450 Park Avenue, Manhattan, May 8
6. Thana Alexa, FF Member, at The Jazz Gallery, Manhattan, May 17
7. Penny Arcade, FF Alumn, at PSNY, Manhattan, May 11-19
8. Gabrielle Hamilton, FF Alumn, named America’s Outstanding Chef, James Beard Foundation Awards 2018
9. Susan Newmark, FF Alumn, at Kentler
10. Renate Bertlmann, FF Alumn, to represent Austria at 58th Venice Biennale, 2019
11. Jennifer Miller, Cathy Weis, FF Alumns, at Weisacres, Manhattan
12. Mark Bloch, Ray Johnson, FF Alumns, in whitehotmagazine.com, now online
13. Hidemi Takagi, FF Alumn, at Anthology Film Archives, Manhattan, May 13
14. Marisa Morán Jahn, FF Alumn, now online at youtube.com
15. John Fleck, Lucy Sexton, FF Alumns, at The LGBT Community Center, Manhattan, May 18
16. Kriota Wilberg, FF Alumn, spring events
17. Einat Amir, FF Alumn, at Links Hall, Chicago, IL, May 10-12
18. Laura Parnes, Eileen Myles, Nicole Eisenman, Rachel Mason, Christen Clifford, FF Alumns, at The Kitchen, Manhattan, June 11
19. Agnes Denes, FF Alumn, at The Shed, Manhattan, opening June, 2019
20. Arlene Rush, FF Member, at Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, extended thru May 13
21. James Casebere, Nicole Eisenman, Ree Morton, FF Alumns, at RISD Museum, Providence, RI, thru Dec. 30
22. Jan Fabre, FF Alumn, in the New York Times, May 8
23. Adam Pendleton, FF Alumn, in the New York Times, May 4
24. Sol LeWitt, FF Alumn, in the New York Times, May 4
25. EIDIA House, FF Alumns, at Plato’s Cave, Brooklyn, on view now
26. Michelle Stuart, FF Alumn, at Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK, opening May 31
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Martha Wilson, León Ferrari, Leon Golub, FF Alumns, selected by Artnet.com among the 10 Best Artworks at Frieze New York 2018
Please visit the complete illustrated article linked here (excerpted text only follows below):
https://news.artnet.com/market/the-10-best-artworks-at-frieze-new-york-2018-1278443
Art Fairs
10 of the Best Artworks at Frieze New York 2018
Leon Golub
Riot III, 1984
Hauser & Wirth (worldwide)
Nearly a decade and a half after his passing, the artist Leon Golub’s expression of an inflamed, rampaging United States of America is as pressing as ever, as this painting of white rage at Hauser & Wirth’s booth makes abundantly clear. Made in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan’s re-election and the beginning of the crack epidemic, it depicts two men-one clutching a truncheon, with the other hand on his groin (it’s not subtle)-as they race toward an unseen enemy. It’s from Golub’s series of abstracted, placeless, indeterminate riot scenes in which he distilled the fury he saw in his country down to its atavistic essence. Here, a liberal might see two Trump supporters outside a convention; a Trump supporter might see two left-wing protesters. If you find this work disturbing, you might want to steer clear of Golub’s current survey at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Raw Nerve,” which delves deeper into the violence that ensues when mankind’s primitive nature is unleashed by political forces.
Martha Wilson
Makeover: Melania, 2017
P.P.O.W. (New York)
Martha Wilson first began impersonating America’s First Ladies in 1985, when, full of indignation over the White House’s part in the Culture Wars, she assumed the appearance of Nancy Reagan and recited a speech: “As an actress I can assure you that the image one wants to project is sometimes different than how one feels. For example, I always feel inadequate to the role of First Lady, which has been thrust upon me. So I use various rituals and acting techniques to manipulate my appearance. Because if the picture is OK, the facts will fade.” Over the years, Wilson also adopted the roles of Barbara Bush, Second Lady Tipper Gore, and other top political spouses. (Then she took time off to devote herself more fully to Franklin Furnace, the performance nonprofit she founded in 1976 to showcase out-of-the-mainstream art like her own.) Over the past decade, she has resumed her own work, along with her First Lady series-and it’s a relief, too, because no First Lady has ever been as ripe for her empathic dissection as Melania Trump, a closely tracked enigma whose spokesperson has to continually defend her worthiness, recently stating, for the record, that “she has not failed.” To tackle Melania, Wilson has created a video that shows the stern, taut, and professionally preserved visage of the First Lady as she gradually furrows into wrinkles, grows grey, gains bags under her eyes, and morphs into a naturally aged woman of 70… who happens to be a wanly smiling Martha Wilson. Were she to re-recite the words she spoke as Nancy Reagan, the piece would be even more complete.
León Ferrari
Sin Titulo, 1961
Sicardi Gallery (Houston)
León Ferrari began his career making calligraphic drawings that took written language and shook it from its communicative shape like a piece of string, unfurling it into loping squiggles that suggested a kind of chaotic freedom. In 1961, he began rendering these drawings in space, building them into freestanding sculptures from metal wire and setting in motion a form of art making that became a sensation. This piece here, from 1962, is one of his earliest three-dimensional efforts, and it’s a gem, being sold by a Brazilian curator who had been a major champion of the artist’s work. Ferrari, of course, did not stop there-and many people, in fact, know him for his far more provocative later work, principally La Civilización Occidental y Cristiana, his 1965 sculpture of Jesus being crucified on an American bomber jet. (A pointed critique of the Vietnam War, the work was censored as “blasphemy” by none other than Buenos Aires archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis.) In 1972, after ramping up his anti-church and anti-regime work, Ferrari left his country-and soon afterwards his son vanished, becoming one of the dictatorship’s infamous disappeared. The artist’s work, naturally, became angrier and condemnatory, with the notion of hell as a particular target of his wrath, because he thought the fear it inculcates leads mankind to needless pain and wicked deeds. Looking at the work in the fair, with its idealism and innocent subversion of convention, is a rather moving experience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. Pablo Helguera, Saya Woolfalk, at EFA Studios, Manhattan, May 15
Public Performance: El Club de Protesta
A project by Pablo Helguera
Tuesday, May 15, 6 PM
Join us for an evening of performances by El Club de Protesta, a project by Pablo Helguera, on Tuesday, May 15, at 6pm at The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts. Musicians, Alejandro Florez and Sebastian Cruz, will be performing both traditional and folkloric protest songs.
This is a public program of the exhibition Protest Club. The exhibition’s title was inspired by Helguera’s song club and includes an installation of ephemera and recordings from past events.
An Exhibition of EFA International Partnerships Artists
and EFA Studio Member Artists
On view March 6 – July 1, 2018
Curated by Natalia Nakazawa
EFA International Partnership Artists: Ava Ansari, Salar Ansari, Maria Elvira Escallón, Rashwan Abdelbaki, Şener Özmen; and EFA Studio Member Artists: Wafaa Bilal, Saya Woolfalk, Richard Jochum, Karina Skvirsky, Pablo Helguera
The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Program is pleased to announce the opening of Protest Club, an exhibition featuring five International Partnerships artists and five Studio Member artists engaged with global issues of power and protest. Side-stepping expectations of political art, works on view use humor, fantasy and participation to engage viewers with small and large stories of our troubled globe. This multifaceted exhibition features media, sculpture, painting and site-specific installations.
EFA International Partnerships is a program which hosts artists from around the world in EFA’s NYC studios for a period of six months to a year. Artists are nominated and supported by international partner organizations, with additional benefits and programming provided by the EFA Studio Program. The EFA Studio Program was founded in 1998 as a program of The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts to provide affordable private studio spaces, facilitate career development, and promote public and critical exposure for our members. We host curated exhibitions featuring studio member artists on the third floor.
EFA Studios is located at 323 W. 39 St., 3nd Floor, Manhattan.
Hours: Tue – Fri, 11-6 pm
www.studios-efanyc.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. Elaine Angelopoulos, Georgia Lale, FF Alumns, at AAA3A The Bronx, opens May 12
“AEAGEAN”
AAA3A
309 Alexander Avenue, Apartment 3A, Bronx
OPENING
SATURDAY, MAY 12, from 4pm to 7pm
Duration: May 7 – 31, 2018
AAA3A Hours: Thursday & Friday @ 3:00 – 6:00pm. Saturday by appointment only
Phone: 917.260.9954
AEGEAN/ΑΙΓΑΙΩ/EGE
“The Aegean Sea is the sea between Greece and Turkey. It is the water that connects and divides two countries that are well known for their long history, ancient culture, and their rich Mediterranean cuisine. These two neighboring regions have been trying to obtain balance and communication with each other since ancient times. The Turkish and Greek people have an instinctive love for each other. They usually refer to each other as “Brother” or “Same Blood”. But the strategic position of the Aegean Sea that connects Africa, the Middle East, and Europe has created political games from all sides that have harmed several times the peaceful existence of its people.
“AEGEAN” is a group show that aims to bring together emerging Turkish and Greek artists that live and work in New York City. The works of the artists creates a visual conversation around their cultural similarities and uniqueness. The art works deal with displacement, relocation, and cultural confusion due to migration and immigration. They also address the cultural connection and love that these two ethnic groups feel for each other despite geopolitical intrigues that take place in the region.
Participating artists: Burcu Oz, Elaine Angelopoulos, Zeren Badar, Eleana Antonaki, Rehan Miskci and Petros Lales.
Curated by Georgia Lale”
AAA3A website: http://www.blankaamezkua.com/aaa3a/index.html
Please contact me for further information regarding the show.
I will be more than happy to hear from you and see you in the show if you are in the city.
Sincerely,
Georgia Lale
Visual Artist based in NYC
Email: lalegeorgia@gmail.com
Phone number: 646-506-8344
Website: http://lalegeorgia.net/
Store: https://glalestyle.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lale.georgia
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaleGeorgia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. Ellen Fisher, FF Alumn, at La MaMa, Manhattan, May 25-27
LaMaMa Moves Festival presents
Ellen Fisher presents TIME DON’T STOP FOR NOBODY–a movement-based performance inspired by perceptions of age. Fisher drew on her own experiences working with the elderly and children, and the answers of over 100 respondents to a questionnaire, to structure this intimate theater piece. An ensemble of four performers, ranging in age from 12 to 95, collaborated during the creative process, exploring what it means to grow up.
Featuring: Pablo Vela, Mina Nishimura, Leo Garcia, Ellen Fisher and special guest artist Nilusha
May 25 & 26 @ 7:00
May 27 @ 2:00
66 E 4th Street
NYC 10003
please go to Lamama.org website for ticket information,
look for Lamama Moves Festival !
May 25 & 26 @ 7:00
May 27 @ 2:00
66 E 4th Street
NYC 10003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. Liliana Porter, FF Alumn, at 450 Park Avenue, Manhattan, May 8
Radical Women Artists from Latin America
Panelists:
Tania Bruguera, Havana-born performance artist and political and social justice activist
Carmen Hermo, Assistant Curator, Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum
Liliana Porter, Buenos Aires-born / New York-based pioneering conceptual artist
Arnold Lehman, Phillips Senior Advisor and Director Emeritus, Brooklyn Museum
Tuesday 8 May
6pm Doors open
6:30pm Panel begins
450 Park Avenue, New York
In celebration of Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985 at the Brooklyn Museum through 22 July, Phillips is delighted to bring together this distinguished panel which will focus on the exceptional, experimental, conceptual, and performative work outside the canon by Latin American women artists worldwide.
Art Matters is an ongoing series of conversations with icons and innovators of the art world, led by Arnold Lehman, Phillips Senior Advisor and Director Emeritus of the Brooklyn Museum.
Light refreshments will be served.
RSVP artmatters@phillips.com
RSVP essential, space is limited.
If you’re unable to join us in New York, tune into the livestream at 6:30pm EDT.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. Thana Alexa, FF Member, at The Jazz Gallery, Manhattan, May 17
Thana Alexa at The Jazz Gallery
Thana Alexa Presents
ONA
The Jazz Gallery
Thursday, May 17th
Sets 7:30pm (TICKETS) & 9:30pm (TICKETS)
The Jazz Gallery
1160 Broadway, 5th Fl,
btw 27th & 28th Streets, NYC
Join me on May 17 as I give a rare performance/ sneak preview of the new music from my upcoming release, ONA.
ONA is the musical expression of what being a woman means to me. It is my discovery of the wild woman spirit within me and the struggles I’ve encountered in setting her free. It also celebrates the inspirational women who have given me the confidence to realize my truth. ONA conveys what I have learned about the lives of women, our experiences, our emotions, our sexuality, our desire for freedom and our ability to overcome injustice by fighting for what we believe in. Women are like water… we always find our way.
Featuring:
Antonio Sanchez – drums
Carmen Staaf – piano & keyboards
Jordan Peters – guitar
Jorge Roeder – electric & acoustic bass
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. Penny Arcade, FF Alumn, at PSNY, Manhattan, May 11-19
26th anniversary of Bitch!Dyke!Faghag!Whore! The Penny Arcade Sex & Censorship Show
5 performances Only May 11,12, 17,18,19
here is a one minute video from one of the 48 performances we did of B!D!F!W! in London 2012
TICKETS on sale now for Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore! : The Penny Arcade Sex and Censorship Show, a blend of comedy, political humanism and NEW YORK’S BEST EROTIC DANCERS! This freedom of speech anthem has played in over 30 cities around the world and boldly takes on sexual liberation with fierce wisdom. No topic is taboo-sex, politics, AIDS, pornography, religion and censorship from the right and left. The impassioned polemic is tempered by Arcade’s trademark warmth, down-to-earth style and an audience dance break!
Come early at 7:30pm for go-go pre-show and wine and beer bar!
Performance at 8pm
TICKETS https://ci.ovationtix.com/203/production/985407The 26th anniversary production of
Before Angels In America there was B!D!F!W!, originally submitted by Arcade as her Solo Fellowship audit to the National Endowment For The Arts at the height of Censorship Crisis in 1990.
A performance backlash against Senator Helms & The NEA censorship crisis, the sex phobic, hatred of gay men, and the moral judgements against strippers and prostitutes, B!D!F!W set out to prove,like Lenny Bruce that sensationalism connot exist in the presence of content.
A separation of Church and State, First Amendment anthem, the show is more relevant now then it was in 1990-1993
B!D!F!W! introduced the idea of sex positive feminism, (which always upsets both the Left and Right) and left the international neo burlesque movement in it’s wake.
We have hired 8 male and female erotic dancers and they are fantastic!
There is a 30 minutes pre show of erotic dancers with wine and beer bar before the show starts at 7:30pm
It is the first major retrospective piece in the new theatre at PSNY (formerly PS122) located at the corner of East 9th St and 1st Ave.
B!D!F!W! is a high content spectacle and we are very proud to restage this show that ran in the East Village at PS122 in 1990 for 3 months then Off Broadway at The Village Gate for one year before becoming a mainstream hit in 35 cities around the world and still in demand 26 years later.
Wishing you the very best,
xopenny
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8. Gabrielle Hamilton, FF Alumn, named America’s Outstanding Chef, James Beard Foundation Awards 2018
Please visit the complete illustrated article linked here (text only follows below):
https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-real-top-chef-gabrielle-hamilton-wins-beard-award-1525792652
The Wall Street Journal
America’s Real Top Chef: Gabrielle Hamilton Wins Beard Award
Owner of Prune named America’s Outstanding Chef at the James Beard Foundation Awards
By Charles Passy
May 8, 2018
Gabrielle Hamilton, owner of Prune restaurant in New York City’s East Village neighborhood, was named the country’s Outstanding Chef at the James Beard Foundation Awards, held in Chicago on Monday night.
Ms. Hamilton bested competitors from New Orleans, North Carolina and California in winning the award, which recognizes a chef “whose career has set national industry standards and who has served as an inspiration to other food professionals.”
The Beard Awards are widely considered the Oscars of the food world and honor chefs and restaurants in a variety of categories.
Ms. Hamilton opened Prune in 1999. The restaurant specializes in bistro-style fare and is known for its straightforward approach. A noteworthy menu item from Prune’s past featured Triscuit crackers with sardines. The dining spot is also celebrated for its variations on the Bloody Mary cocktail.
In crafting such an approach, Ms. Hamilton has gone against the grain of chefs who have favored cutting-edge techniques or trendy ingredients. In accepting her award, she spoke of the constant challenges of running a successful restaurant, but she added: “It’s been the greatest, greatest party. I love this work.”
Other chefs and industry observers were quick to sing Ms. Hamilton’s praises upon the news of her Beard victory. “Long overdue!” tweeted celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern.
A handful of other New York chefs and dining spots were nominated for different key Beard awards, but didn’t win. Among them: Zachary Golper of Brooklyn’s Bien Cuit bakery, who was up for Outstanding Baker, and the Soho brasserie Balthazar, which was vying for Outstanding Restaurant.
Missy Robbins of Brooklyn’s Lilia restaurant was named New York City’s best chef, a Beard regional category. Other contenders for that honor included Amanda Cohen of Dirt Candy, Ignacio Mattos of Estela, Alex Stupak of Empellón Midtown and Jody Williams of Buvette Gastrothèque.
Write to Charles Passy at cpassy@wsj.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9. Susan Newmark, FF Alumn, at Kentler
Hi to all, this year, Kentler’s fundraiser will focus on their Flatfiles Collection. As you know, I am on the advisory committee and a supporter of this wonderful gallery. My work will also be featured in conversation on Sunday, May 20 at 12:30pm and again at 1:30pm with curator/art writer Heather Zises and artist Gelah Penn. Other events from the series can be found below. Looking forward to seeing you at Kentler Gallery 353 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231 www.kentlergallery.org
Best, Susan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10. Renate Bertlmann, FF Alumn, to represent Austria at 58th Venice Biennale, 2019
RENATE BERTLMANN
will represent Austria at the
58th Venice Biennale in 2019
The SAMMLUNG VERBUND collection, Vienna and Founding Director
Gabriele Schor are pleased to announce that in 2019 Renate Bertlmann is the first woman artist with a solo exhibition at the Austrian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale.
The decision for Bertlmann by curator Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein is a great confirmation of the early commitment of the SAMMLUNG VERBUND collection which owns 30 major works of the artist from the 1970s.
The collaboration between Renate Bertlmann and Gabriele Schor began ten years ago and, after intensive research work in 2016, culminated in the first comprehensive international publication of her works as well as in the highly acclaimed exhibition in the Vertical Gallery at VERBUND headquarters Am Hof in Vienna. The SAMMLUNG VERBUND collection is proud that its publication and exhibition led to a rediscovery of Renate Bertlmann.
The artist had numerous participations in our tour of the Feminist Avant-Garde. First time at the Galleria Nazionale d’arte in Rome (2010). Other stations followed: Madrid (2013), BOZAR in Brussels (2014), Halmstad in Sweden and Hamburger Kunsthalle (2015), Photographers’ Gallery in London (2016) and ZKM in Karlsruhe (2017).
In 2017, Bertlmann received the Grand Austrian State Prize from the Federal Chancellery.
RENATE BERTLMANN
Works 1969-2016. A subversive political program
The SAMMLUNG VERBUND collection, Vienna
Ed. Gabriele Schor, Jessica Morgan
Prestel Publishing, 2016
The SAMMLUNG VERBUND collection
Vertical Gallery
Am Hof 6a
1010 Vienna
0043/50313/50049
sammlung@verbund.com
http://www.verbund.com/kt/en/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11. Jennifer Miller, Cathy Weis, FF Alumns, at Weisacres, Manhattan
A shared evening of performances by
Jennifer Miller, Saori Tsukada with Nikki Appino, and Cathy Weis
May 13th, 2018
at 6pm
Weisacres 537 Broadway, New York, NY 10012
Sundays on Broadway presents an evening of performances by Jennifer Miller, Saori Tsukada with Nikki Appino, and Cathy Weis.
Jennifer Miller, will present a work-in-progress showing of a solo dance piece, her first in years, titled ACK ACK ACK!!!
Theater artists Saori Tsukada and Nikki Appino will show an excerpt from a new work in development entitled ARCHIVIST. This will be the first reading of the work (possibly without words).
Sundays on Broadway is not only for the new and experimental, but also for the tried and true. Alongside the two newer works on the program, Cathy Weis will resurrect an earlier work, bringing new life to her signature live video setup.
For more information about this event, please visit our calendar.
All events begin at 6:00pm. Doors open at 5:45pm at WeisAcres, 537 Broadway, #3. There are no reservations. Seating is first come, first served.
Beginning this season, we suggest a $10 contribution at the door.
Keep in mind, this is a small space! Please arrive on time out of courtesy to the artists.
Sundays on Broadway is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. LMCC.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12. Mark Bloch, Ray Johnson, FF Alumns, in whitehotmagazine.com, now online
MARK BLOCH, FF ALUMN, ON TOBY SPISELMAN OF THE NEW YORK CORRESPONDNDANCE SCHOOL
Please visit the complete illustrated article linked here (text only follows below):
https://whitehotmagazine.com/articles/13-1934-april-25-2018/3947
Toby R. Spiselman
August 13, 1934 – April 25, 2018
A passage from Ray Johnson in the Letters to the Editor section of “FILE Megazine” in the early 1970s went like this:
” …And there were countless phone calls to Toby Spiselman, who is never in
FILE one at three in the morning I woke her up…”
Rest in peace, Toby.
I am sad to announce that Toby Spiselman died on April 25 at the age of 83 in New York City. A family service was held this week at Mount Lebanon Cemetery.
Toby was a gifted mathematician and quite accomplished in that world. She graduated from Brooklyn College in 1955 and got a graduate degree in math from Yale, which was a rarity for a female in those days. It was equally unusual for a woman to have worked for IBM in the capacity she did but as a pioneer in computer technology, she was a well-respected professional.
She later became an officer at Republic National Bank of New York where she remained for many years.
But it was Toby Spiselman’s secret job as the “acting secretary” of Ray Johnson’s New York Correspondance School that she will remain forever known. The NYCS, the analog precursor to social networking, used the international postal system as a distribution system to stand in for the computers that would eventually replace it. Coincidentally, Spiselman, well acquainted with computers due to her extreme math chops, was Ray’s constant companion from the time that she met him in 1958 until Johnson’s death by suicide in 1995. She once buoyantly told me with Ray looking on, that “once I met him, I never let him get away” and gleefully added that she had “attached” herself to him. She adored Ray Johnson and he adored her. Unfortunately, Ray’s mysterious “performance art” death by drowning was such a shock to her that she almost immediately retreated from public life in the art world and turned her attention to her family, never to return.
At about 4pm on the last day of his life, Johnson told his friend Bill Wilson in a phone call, “Tell Toby this is a mail event.” He had probably already mailed to her the couple of packages that arrived there within days and that she interpreted, along with that final phone message, to be a would-be suicide note, as murky and dark as the rest of his final days.
Toby had spoken to Ray the night before-as she often did-and the call ended with a final expression of fondness by Johnson. But there was no indication to Toby that anything particularly unusual was about to occur.
But once she got the harsh news that her friend was gone, Spiselman never recovered.
They were beyond close buddies. Toby was one of the few people to ever visit his home in Locust Valley, NY and was even a frequent guest. She said to me she had what she called, “my room” there in the home of man who has often been called, accurately or not, hermit-like. Together the two had gone on trips, including to Shelter Island in the 1980s, where Johnson worked on his famous silhouette portraits of famous people. It also happened to be the spot from where Ray travelled to Sag Harbor to take his own life by leaping off a bridge and backstroking into the frigid waters of Long Island Sound on a cold Friday the thirteenth evening in January 1995.
As a fixture at Ray’s side, Spiselman became well-known in her own right to art world stars of the 1960s and ’70s like Bill and Elaine DeKooning, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Chuck Close and their circles. Toby reportedly remained close to Christo and his late wife Jeanne Claude after Ray died but that was a rare exception. I think by remaining silent and keeping a low profile, she took Ray’s Taoist example to heart. “Ray didn’t talk about it, he just did it,” she told me in one of our last conversations in 1995, “That’s why you don’t find art magazines lying around quoting the art philosophy of Ray Johnson.”
“An operation in math is anything that leaves a scar,” was a quote Wilson attributed to Toby in a 1977 book. In her role as “secretary” of Ray’s “school,” her computer-like mind did have a command of important information on which her friend, Ray, often relied. “And then I say to my friend Toby Spiselman, like what year was that?” he once said in an interview.
Like the “Letter to the Editor” above, in “FILE,” her name was always popping up in autobiographical tidbits that made his legendary letters so fun to read: “March 26, 1971; (Dear) John (Willenbecker), Last night I drove Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Alloway home after dinner at the Arakawa’s and Lawrence sat in the back with Toby and they used the kilt as a lap robe.”
(The missive was adorned with a movie still of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in kilts.) In another letter he writes a version of a more frequent
refrain: “Detach here and send this art to Toby Spiselman.”
In a “report” of one of his “school’s” unique Meetings, he wrote, in part, “Toby Spiselman and I… shared a Fresca watched black & white television and color television the Return of the Humonoids listened to music & John Giorno discussed the next Meeting…” Indeed, it was Toby who helped him create these NYCS Meetings, sometimes called Nothings, in which invitees were never quite sure why they were there or what was to happen. In an interview Johnson once dropped, “So we had subsequent meetings at Finch College, where Toby Spiselman rented foot massage machines.” She was not only the “secretary” of Johnson’s world but also the ultimate Meeting planner.
In a 1977 issue of “Art Journal,” (subtitled, “Send Letters, Postcards, Drawings, and Objects …”) Spiselman wrote, ” there have been thirty New York Correspondence School Meetings and Lectures by Ray Johnson in churches, schools, galleries, museums, theaters, and parks” and then, like the good would-be clerical and sidekick that she was, proceeded to list them with important details. This article accompanied texts by art world luminaries including the aforementioned Alloway, John Russell, Suzi Gablik, Robert Pincus-Witten and Lucy Lippard.
In her professional life, Spiselman co-authored a scholarly text called, “The Computer and Archaeology” with three female colleagues recapping a seminar at Columbia University for the American Journal of Archaeology. In that 1968-69 season it is now hard to imagine that “the drawback of the computer has been that the layman had no means of communicating with it directly” but that “the cathode ray tube (a monitor) has changed that.” In another passage under “In the Field” it promises, “Miss Spiselman said that it should be possible, fairly soon, to take a portable console on an excavation.” This illustrates the earliness of Toby’s entry into the field during her work at IBM.
One overlap of her work in math and her art world travels was her assistance to the artist Lowell Nesbitt. While working at IBM’s new building on Sixth Avenue, the mischievous Spiselman is rumored, in the wee hours of the morning, to have brought Nesbit in for private lessons on how to use the newest color technology. Nesbit is known as the first artist to use computer parts as subject matter for his artwork in photorealist paintings from 1965 and 66 such as “IBM Magnetic Storage Drum,” “IBM 1440”
and “IBM 6400” based on the early IBM ENIAC and Univac computers. He showed at the Howard Wise Gallery, which was devoted to art that used new technology. It is interesting to note that some of the earliest writings on Nesbit were by Ray Johnson’s closest friends Bill Wilson and Henry Martin.
In fact, it just so happens that William S. (Bill) Wilson and his wife Ann, once assigned the job of being Ray Johnson’s archivists by the artist (and faithfully executed by Bill), were married in the early ’60s at Spiselman’s family home in Brooklyn. Spiselman’s father was an inventor and engineer and her sister, totally by coincidence, also ended up in the art world-but not in New York. Her sister said, “You brought 84 years of knowledge and great wit to all who knew you… at the end of the Beat Generation… On top of it, she was a great sister, an incredible aunt to my kids and a super grand aunt to my grandsons.”
Conversely, in an interview with Nam June Paik, Jud Yalkut was probably referring to Toby when he said, “Now even Ray Johnson is going out with a petite computeress.”
So Toby charmed and touched everyone she encountered, from the world of math and numbers to her family to the art stars of her generation.
Ray had a rubber stamp he used in his letters that said, “Collage by Toby Spiselman” that was tongue in cheek but that does point to a blending of art and life that suits Toby’s big smile that I still remember from the times I saw this buttoned up member of the International Congress of Mathematicians who also had the smarts to “attach herself” to an artist as unconventional as Ray.
She took classic photos of Ray including him “wearing” a collage earring that appeared on the cover of “The Detroit Artists Monthly,” February 1978 issue that contained an interview by Diane Spodarek and Randy Delbeke and a photo of him on a Tompkins Square bench that adorned Bill Wilson’s collection of essays on him that appeared as a self-published booklet by Wilson when Ray was still alive.
Finally, Spiselman was also one of Johnson’s muses, perhaps Muse Number One from among the many women in the “mouth of the month” club that Ray hung with over the years and perhaps the job she loved most of all. She was the subject of Ray’s collage, “Duchamp with Star Haircut” that combines Johnson and Duchamp 1921 imagery, “starring” Toby as Rose Sélavy, with what looks like a kid’s toy star placed on her head, pretending to be a tonsure, the shaved head of a monk that Duchamp’s portrait evoked. Toby is not recognizable, obscured by smoke with obfuscated features but Johnson let us know it was her. She appeared throughout his powerful oeuvre. Perhaps she provided a kind of double for him, but one he left behind when he abruptly exited-much like the shooting star that was shaved into Marcel’s head.
Holland Cotter wrote in The New York Times in 2014, “Like Warhol, Johnson had an appetite for glamour and the politics of who-knows-who. But he was impatient with hierarchy. Warhol was a worshiper, Johnson a collector, a cataloger. In his work the same plane of importance is occupied by Marcel Duchamp, Anita O’Day and Toby Spiselman, a Long Island friend…. There’s a sense that for him all names are equivalent in value, are all collage elements, all ‘nothings,’ or rather somethings, equally useful and even soothing in their sameness.”
But Spiselman’s relationship with Johnson and with life was special. She learned the hard way that an operation in art, just like in math, is anything that leaves a scar.
As her sister Judy said, “If there is another there, there, I hope it is a place of peace and happiness for you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13. Hidemi Takagi, FF Alumn, at Anthology Film Archives, Manhattan, May 13
Hi There,
I hope you are enjoying warm weather! (Finally)
My video work “Yachiyo – The Prologue” will be showing as a part of NARTUREart’s Single Channel Video Art Festival on May 13th (Sunday) at 2pm @ Anthology Film Archives. (32 2nd Ave, NY 10003) Free and Open to the Public. More info: http://nurtureart.org/pr…/single-channel-video-art-festival/
I made this video while I was in BRIC media arts fellowship 2016.
I hope to see you there 🙂
Best,
Hidemi
View this email in your browser
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
14. Marisa Morán Jahn, FF Alumn, now online at youtube.com
FILM, ART, TRANSMEDIA
WATCH NOW: Episode 2 of CareForce One Travelogues: Real Talk About Human Trafficking & Domestic Work
To better understand the legacy of slavery and its connection to domestic work today, Marisa, Choco, Anjum stop in Washington DC to meet up with Sameera Hafiz, an advocate combating modern-day slavery; Antonia Pena, a trafficking survivor who uses yoga to reach out to her peers, and John Franklin II, a historian at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Watch Episode 2 now at this link:
A humorous and touching film series supported by ITVS and Sundance, the CareForce One Travelogues features the artist Marisa Morán Jahn, her son Choco, and their buddy Anjum Asharia as they travel from their homes in NYC to Miami in a fifty-year old station wagon, the CareForce One, seeking solutions to the nations care crisis. www.careforce.co
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
15. John Fleck, Lucy Sexton, FF Alumns, at The LGBT Community Center, Manhattan, May 18
it is a pleasure to invite you and your representive staff at Franklin Furnace to the screening of ‘JOHN FLECK IS WHO YOU WANT HIM TO BE, a groundbreaking documentary about legendary performance artist John Fleck, who was the center of the cultural storm wars of the 1990s as one of the NEA 4.
The film reception begins at 7:30 pm, followed by its screening on Friday, May 18 at 8:00 pm at the Bureau of General Services-Queer Division in room 210 of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., New York, NY 10011. Lucy Sexton of DANCENOISE will host its post screening Q&A.
JOHN FLECK IS WHO YOU WANT HIM TO BE is a documentary film by Kevin Duffy examining the legendary performance artist who was his generation’s agent provocateur. Its compelling film staged and set during the AIDS crisis includes actual contemporary cinema vérité footage of Fleck’s performances in New York and LA, with a sit-down interview and archival retrospective footage from 30 years ago, including never before seen footage of the performance, which actually sparked the NEA 4 crisis and the subsequent US Supreme Court decision.
This film chronicles history in the making, includes never-before-seen footage of groundbreaking performances and, given the contemporary cultural climate, must be seen.
CONTACT
contact@bgsqd.com
Bureau of General Services-Queer Division
@The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
208 West 13th Street, Room 210
New York, NY 10011
contact@bgsqd.com
646-457-0859
http://bgsqd.com/event/john-fleck-is-who-you-want-him-to-be/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
16. Kriota Wilberg, FF Alumn, spring events
Hello Everyone!
My artist residency is complete, my book is out, I’m on my “book tour,” and I’m going to be talking all spring about comics, textiles, sutures, and injury prevention – my favorite subjects! Hope to see you at one or more of the following:
TORONTO COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL (TCAF) Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON. I will be at the Uncivilized Books table at intervals throughout the fest, signing my new book, Draw Stronger! (See below for more book details.) On Saturday the 12th I’ll be in the Beeton Auditorium speaking on the panel Practical & Personal: Communicating Health in Comics with co-panelists Georgia Webber, Julie Rocheleau, Iasmin Omar Ata, and moderator Whit Taylor. Toronto has a strong graphic medicine community. I anticipate a lively discussion and Q&A session. With academic and professional conferences on Friday the 11th, not to mention a packed schedule and fantastic selection of comics, it’s no wonder that TCAF is one of my favorite festivals!
NEEDLEWORK: SOME HISTORIES OF SEWING THE BODY New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street, Manhattan. Tuesday, May 22, 2018 6:00-7:30 PM https://nyam.org/events/event/needlework-some-histories-sewing-body/ Join me for a survey of my research and works-in-progress as the inaugural Artist In Residence at the Academy Library Historical Collection. As an artist working in needlework and comics/graphic medicine, I have been exploring the history of sutures and ligatures – surgical techniques that bear relevance to art and craftsmanship. Some of the areas explored last year include: the history of surgery; the language of sewing; gendered roles in needlework and medicine; the history of textile production; women in medicine and surgery; research ethics; and oh-so-much-more! I share my comics, needlework, research, and experiences with last fall’s Embroidering Medicine workshop at the Library.
ELLEN FORNEY: ROCK STEADY Wednesday May 23, 7:30-8:30 PM at Strand Books 828 Broadway, NYC. Brilliant cartoonist Ellen Forney is back with the follow up to her graphic memoir Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me. While the first book was an examination about her bipolar disorder, this new book shifts the focus from the internal to the external. It offers tips and tricks, and serves as a guide to navigating life. I will be interviewing Ellen about Rock Steady, her experiences with bipolar disorder, and her work in the area of graphic medicine. $5 will buy you admission and a gift card. $19.99 will buy you admission and a signed copy of the book. https://www.strandbooks.com/event/ellen-forney-rock-steady
DRAW STRONGER is in a store near you! Yes, indeed! I will never have to staple another self-care mini comic together again – ha ha! This self care for cartoonists and visual artists comic book is 130 pages of injury education, self care information, tips, and exercises.
“Kriota Willberg’s Draw Stronger is a life-saver. Every artist-pro and amateur alike-needs to memorize this essential little book.” – Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics, The Sculptor
“Kriota Willberg’s Draw Stronger is an indispensable guide to help artists and writers practice self care and sustain their artistic practice. The ups and downs of the creative process can be a pain in the butt but it doesn’t have to be a pain in the neck, back, and arms too.”-James Sturm, Director of The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS)
“A concise, thoughtful, and informative manual that should be required reading for all aspiring (and aging) cartoonists.”
-Adrian Tomine, author of Killing and Dying
You can find it here, at the Uncivilized books website: http://www.uncivilizedbooks.com/draw/index.html
All Best,
Kriota Willberg
KriotaWelt.blogspot.com
kriota@earthlink.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
17. Einat Amir, FF Alumn, at Links Hall, Chicago, IL, May 10-12
Dear Friends and Collegues,
I’ll be premiering a new performance this week in Chicago, please join me (free with RSVP) if you’re around! And feel free to extend this invitation to Chicago-based art enthusiasts.
Please register through this link: http://bit.ly/AsMuchAsYouWant
As Much As You Want is a participatory performance combined with a real time psychological research by Einat Amir and Yossi Hasson, as part of Amir’s long-term collaboration with the Emotion in Conflict lab, led by Prof. Eran Halperin.
The project will consist of one on one interactions of performers with the audience. The joint project is a psychological experiment, and serves as a one-weekend-only multi-sensual artistic experience.
Each performer will welcome one visitor at a time for a 15 minutes one-on-one interview. The interviews will be constructed as a unique psychological research / performance hybrid – containing a mix of questions and actions that will challenge the audience visually and emotionally. The interviews content will remain confidential. The anonymous data collected from the audience will then be processed into an innovative research in the field of interpersonal emotions.
This project is made possible with funds from CEC ArtsLink, Artis, Bezalel Research & Innovation Authority, IDC Herzeliya, Aspect Ratio Gallery and Hyde Park Art Center.
Einat Amir
עינת עמיר عينت عمير
http://einatamir.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
18. Laura Parnes, Eileen Myles, Nicole Eisenman, Rachel Mason, Christen Clifford, FF Alumns, at The Kitchen, Manhattan, June 11
“TOUR WITHOUT END”
A FILM BY LAURA PARNES
Press Contact: Becky Elmquist | becky@mormorstudio.com | 917-971-9401
The Kitchen Will Host the New York Premiere of “TOUR WITHOUT END”
https://www.tourwithoutend.com/
Press Preview at Spectacle Theater, May 12, 4:30PM, 124 S 3rd St., Brooklyn, Please RSVP
New York, NY – The Kitchen, 512 W19th St., is proud to present a screening of Laura Parnes’ multiplatform project/film, Tour Without End (Twenty-One Portraits and a Protest) on June 11 at 8pm. Live musicians including BB TAY VEE and Macy Rodman will accompany this screening. Tickets $15 General / $10 Members.
Directed and produced by Laura Parnes, and written in collaboration with the film’s participants, Tour Without End casts real-life musicians and artists as fictional bands on tour that evolves into a cross generational commentary on culture, identity and politics in the Trump era. The work revels in the sometimes hilarious- but always complex -band dynamics the characters endure in touring, collaborating, and aging in a youth-driven music industry. As the players move in and out of fictionalized characters and real life, the film moves in and out of non-linear narrative and historical document.
Shot in real environments and situations over the course of 4 years between 2014-2018, at over 15 DIY music spaces in and around NYC, Tour Without End functions as a time capsule made more apparent by the shuttering of many of the film’s locations due to NYC’s rapid gentrification. The film’s multitude of characters are legendary performers in the downtown NYC arts scene including Wooster Group founder Kate Valk, Jim Fletcher (The NYC Players), musicians Lizzi Bougatsos, (Gang Gang
Dance), Kathleen Hanna (The Julie Ruin), Brontez Purnell (The Younger Lovers), Eileen Myles, Alexandra Drewchin (Eartheater), Nicole Eisenman, K8 Hardy, Johanna Fateman (Le Tigre) Shannon Funchess (Light Asylum), JD Samson (MEN), Gary Indiana, Kembra Pfahler, (Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black), Rachel Mason, Tom McGrath, Matthew Asti (MGMT), Becca Blackwell, Christen Clifford, Alessandra Genovese (Crush), Rogelio Ramos (Love Pig), Kenya Robinson (Cheeky LaShae) and Neon Music (Youth Quake).
This program is made possible with support from Creative Capital, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Howard Gilman Foundation, in part by public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Laura Parnes’ critically acclaimed films and installations address counter-cultural and youth-culture references where the music is integral to the work. For over twenty years these large-scale cinematic installations have engaged numerous notable individuals in her complex and ambitious collaborations. She has screened and exhibited her work widely in the US and internationally, including: Whitney Museum of American Art, NY; MoMA PS1, NY; Miami Museum of Contemporary Art, FL; Brooklyn Museum; Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens; The International Film Festival Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands; and Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; and NY and on PBS and Spanish Television. She recently had solo exhibitions at LA><, LA, Participant Inc., Fitzroy Gallery, and solo screenings at the Museum of Modern Art and The Kitchen, New York City. Parnes is a 2013 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellow, a 2014 NYFA recipient, and a 2016 Creative Capital Awardee. Video Data Bank published a box set of her work, and Participant Press published a book of her scripts titled ‘Blood and Guts in Hollywood: Two Screenplays’ by Laura Parnes with an
introduction by Chris Kraus. She has also directed music videos for The Julie Ruin and Le Tigre.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
19. Agnes Denes, FF Alumn, at The Shed, Manhattan, opening June, 2019
“A major survey exhibition is in the works for artist Agnes Denes at The Shed – a new cultural institution situated at the Hudson Yards in Manhattan, which opens in 2019.
A pioneer of conceptual and environmental art, Denes’s show will be a survey of the artist’s oeuvre and fill The Shed’s two gallery spaces (20,000 sq ft). It will include existing and newly commissioned works in a variety of media. The exhibition is scheduled to open June 2019 and further announcements will follow as they develop. “
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
20. Arlene Rush, FF Member, at Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, extended thru May 13
Pop Goes The Weasel
An exhibition that asks the question “why not”?
Curated by William Norton
EXTENDED to May 13th
Show Dates: April 14th – May 13, 2018
Friday – Sunday 12-6pm
And by appointment
Featuring Artists:
Xiaowei Chen, Yukari Edamitsu, Ellen Hackl Fagan
Cake Hara, Natsuko Hattori, Chris Ketchie
Henry Klimowicz, Sonomi Kobayashi, Gina Magid
Miwael, Toshiko Mori, Noriko Nakano
Norton, Yuki Okamoto, Arlene Rush , Marcela Silva
Melissa Stern, Koto Takei, Millicent Young
Performances:
Dirty Churches, Mariko Endo
Williamsburg Art & Historical Center
135 Broadway (corner of Bedford Avenue), Brooklyn, NY 11211- (718) 486-7372
Director: Yuko Nii
For press information, images and exhibition details please contact
Norton: creativemyth@hotmail.com
917 407 6124
This exhibition is supported through a generous donation from the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center and is funded in large part through a generous contribution from Jonah Engler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
21. James Casebere, Nicole Eisenman, Ree Morton, FF Alumns, at RISD Museum, Providence, RI, thru Dec. 30
RISD Museum
The Phantom of Liberty
May 4-December 30, 2018
RISD Museum
224 Benefit Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02903
United States
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm
T +1 401 454 6500
risdmuseum.org
The RISD Museum presents three timely exhibitions of its collection:
The Phantom of Liberty: Contemporary Works in the RISD Museum Collection
On view through December 30, 2018
This is the largest presentation to date of contemporary works from the RISD Museum’s collections of contemporary art, costumes and textiles, decorative arts, and prints, drawings, and photographs. The exhibition’s title is inspired by Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel’s 1974 surrealist film of the same name reflecting the exhibition’s loose structure of thematic groupings that quietly inform one another, as well as the cultural and political climate of the past half-century. The works in The Phantom of Liberty pose trenchant questions about the possibility of liberty and freedom in a moment defined by mass incarceration, technologically sophisticated means of surveillance and information gathering, increasing economic disparities, and intensifying divisions based on race, religious affiliation, and gender or sexual orientation.
Subtle connections between themes in the exhibition are exemplified by the transition from Sage Sohier’s sympathetic image of a same-sex couple and their child to works by Tina Barney, Deana Lawson, Ree Morton, and Jessi Reaves the explore domesticity and interpersonal relationships to assume vivid astro focus’s rainbow chain curtain depicting LGBTQ-rights adversary Pope Benedict XVI. Sculptures by Faig Ahmed, Robert Arneson, and Joyce J. Scott that similarly examine various notions of religion and spirituality. David Levinthal’s unsettling photograph of a Nazi concentration camp constructed from toy models brings reflections on incarceration and torture by James Casebere, Tony Cokes, Elizabeth Duffy, and Robert Gober into conversation with works by Shimon Attie, Helen Frankenthaler, and James Montford that consider the ongoing impact of various holocausts throughout history. The meditation on colonialism, race, power, and place in Yinka Shonibare’s Un Ballo in Maschera (Courtiers V) (2004) provides a segue between evocations of economic disparities and realities by David Allyn, Walead Beshty, Alejandro Diaz, Lubaina Himid, and Timorous Beasties, and understandings of displacement and migration by Allora & Calzadilla, Nicole Eisenman, Raul Gonzalez III, and Jordan Seaberry.
The Phantom of Liberty: Contemporary Works in the RISD Museum Collection is organized by Dominic Molon, the RISD Museum’s Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
22. Jan Fabre, FF Alumn, in the New York Times, May 8
The New York Times
‘Gatz’ and Other Long Works Will Come to N.Y.U. Skirball
By Andrew R. Chow
May 7, 2018
Taylor Mac isn’t the only one doing 24-hour shows. A group of marathon performances will arrive at N.Y.U.’s Skirball Center next season that will test the endurance of both the performers and the audience.
The longest is “Mount Olympus: to glorify the cult of tragedy,” which runs for a full 24 hours starting on Nov. 10. Jan Fabre’s production features 38 performers portraying characters from Greek tragedy such as Oedipus, Agamemnon and Medea; they fight, engage in orgies, dance, sing operatic arias and take naps onstage. This is the work’s North American premiere – it first ran in Berlin in 2015.
“It’s probably the most complicated thing Skirball has ever done,” Jay Wegman, the center’s artistic director, said in a phone interview. “We’re going to have to rent some semis for showers and things like that.” He said the production has also rented out rooms upstairs in the Kimmel Center, where audience members will be able to eat, nap on cots and even take yoga classes.
“Gatz,” Elevator Repair Service’s adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” clocks in at a comparatively concise but nevertheless daunting eight hours. The word-for-word reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel will run Jan. 23 through Feb. 3, with each performance containing two intermissions and a dinner break. The New York Times critic Ben Brantley called it a “work of singular imagination and intelligence” in his 2010 review.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
23. Adam Pendleton, FF Alumn, in the New York Times, May 4
Please visit the complete illustrated article linked here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
24. Sol LeWitt, FF Alumn, in the New York Times, May 4
Please visit the complete illustrated article linked here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
25. EIDIA House, FF Alumns, at Plato’s Cave, Brooklyn, on view now
The Anti-Frieze Show @ EIDIA House, Plato’s Cave
“There Are No Rules Anymore”
The art critic Jerry Saltz “liked” the above “quip” by EIDIA on Instagram in regard to one of JS posts, and EIDIA House Anti-Frieze Show was launched. This is not a press release, there are no dates for this exhibit’s run (though it is up and running now.) Hours are by appointment. The Plato’s Cave vault space will exhibit nothing. But on display throughout the studio – hundreds of EIDIA works with 100 fellow artist works. What separates EIDIA’s Anti-Frieze from Frieze and other so-called Anti-Frieze Fairs is the EIDIA attitude and the price – and a democratic philosophy – not top down but bottom up. You walk away with emerging and established art from $1.00 to $100 to $10,000. EIDIA House maintains that it is time for a change, you buy from the heart for the heart. What feeds the heart may not necessarily feed the pocket. Life is short. Support the artist driven by their heart.
The Anti-Frieze Show @ EIDIA House, Plato’s Cave
14 Dunham Place
Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY 11249
a nice stroll and ride across the Williamsburg Bridge, EIDIA House is at the base. 4 blocks west of Peter Luger Steak House
L, J, M trains
google map us
News, EIDIA House seeks a venue in the New York area for “THE DECONSUMPTIONISTS – Art As Archive” for public exhibitions. A longterm goal for this project is to enable the entire work to be placed in an established art archive or large-scale art exhibition compound.
The DECONSUMPTIONISTS (2006-present) is a 48-foot semitrailer containing 171 boxes of art production, spanning three decades, each box is numbered and photographed. This work is a reevaluation of capitalism and consumption in these increasingly tenuous times. The DECONSUMPTIONISTS, Art As Archive had its initial launch with a Research Fellowship involving lectures and exhibition-invited by the Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney and the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, Australia 2011. It went on to participate in two Bushwick, Brooklyn Open Studios, 2012 and 2013. Then in 2014 it traveled to MOCAD Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, as part of an art education/community engagement programming, filling in for Mike Kelley’s Mobile Homestead as it traveled to LA for his retrospective. From 2015 to 2017 The Deconsumptionists exhibited at Bozarts and F.A.R.M. gallery in Toledo Ohio.
The Deconsumptionists is a ‘nomadic hybrid’ with custom solar roof. It is half art exhibition/performance space and half sustainable art archive. Housing thirty years of collective works, including ephemera and correspondence in 1/3rd of its insulated internal space, THE DECONSUMPTIONISTS is conceptualized as a portable neo-archive-a roaming installation and project space initiating a program of exhibitions, performances, and lectures. Through the use of photographs, video projection, and text the contents of each box is revealed to the public, and retained as well as an archival record-a pivotal point of focus for EIDIA’s ‘aesthetic research.’ The project begs the question what is the global impact of what we produce economically, ecologically, and socially? As “cultural producers,” are artists a part of the problem or of the solution? What example do we set? We offer a different approach-one of repurposing, reassembling, repositioning and reshaping past works in a present day context with a new point of departure.
Contact: Melissa Wolf eidiahouse@earthlink.net 646 945 3830.
Best,
Meilssa Wolf
Paul Lamarre
EIDIA
eidia.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
26. Michelle Stuart, FF Alumn, at Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK, opening May 31
MICHELLE STUART
THE NATURE OF TIME
June 1 – July 28, 2018
Opening: Thursday, May 31, 6-8pm
The studio is pleased to announce our first solo exhibition with Alison Jacques Gallery, London, featuring a survey of work from 1967-2017.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Goings On is compiled weekly by Harley Spiller
