Justin Cooper's "Thread", 2008, installation view @ Gallery 400, Chicago (Courtesy the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago)

Justin Cooper's "Leid", 2009 (Courtesy the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago)

Checkout American artist Justin Cooper’s work.  “Thread” is made of Garden hose and metal rods.  “Leid” is made of plastic and metal.

Cooper lets the dynamics of the garden hose dictate the loops and twists in “Thread”.  In this piece, most of the garden hose (almost a mile long) was donated by various companies.

Looking at Cooper’s work is like looking at the spontaneous squiggles and doodles most of us draw when we’re bored, only in Cooper’s work they’ve evolved from two dimensional to three.

Exterior View of the new AGA (Photo: Robert Lemermeyer, Courtesy: AGA)

Designed by Los Angeles architect, Randall Stout, the new Art Gallery of Alberta opened its doors to the public today.  Formerly known as the Edmonton Art Gallery, the revamped AGA doesn’t fall behind the Art Gallery of Ontario or the Royal Ontario Museum.  If anything, its bold look and impressive roster of exhibitions (both current and upcoming) pushes it to the forefront of the Canadian art scene.

Even more inspirational, however, is the fact that approximately 10,000 tickets were given away for the two day (today and tomorrow) opening celebration.  The tickets disappeared within a few hours leaving no doubt of the public’s interest and curiosity.

Occupying the entire third floor will be North American premier of internationally-renowned Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller’s installation The Murder of Crows.  Exhibited in Sydney, Berlin and Brazil, the work is inspired by Goya’s The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.  The title is derived from an English expression used to denote what the AGA press release describes as a “crow funeral” – when a crow dies, there is a ‘mourning’ ritual which consists of other crows gathering around the corpse and cawing.  As if to mimic this ritual, the chairs are set up in a semi circle.

The installation is an audio journey (the narration is provided by the voice of Cardiff) of fear and terror within the context of our modern society.  Using over 100 speakers, Cardiff’s voice is accompanied by various sounds including compositions by Freida Abtan, Tilman Ritter and Titus Maderlechner.   The entire piece is 30 minutes long and criss-crosses between war marches and lullabies (lullabies both begin and end the piece).

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller's The Murder of Crows (Installation Views, Nationalgalerie, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 2009) (Photo: Roman Marz)

A second Cardiff and Miller work entitled Storm Room is also being exhibited.  Created specifically for the opening of the gallery, the installation is a continuation of the exploration of sound and emotion.  Both exhibitions run until May 9, 2010.

BRAVO AGA!

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In other words, this is art that’s happening in the dark so you can’t see it!

Where:  Tate Britain’s “Late at Tate: Afrodizzia”; When: Feb. 5, 18:30-21:30; Participants: Kimathi Donkor, Kunal Patel, Sharon Dabrowa, Roi Driscoll, Ben Youngman, Barbara Lambert, and Larry Archiampong.

Again, in the words of Larry:

“Ok, its as simple as ABC…I create a dark space, I’m talking pitch black, so no one who enters can see us and we cannot see each other. We take our instruments into this dark space with the emphasis of improvisation in mind, but we take it that step further. We rely on each other’s sense of sound and feeling to communicate with one another, meanwhile the audience becomes bound to this void of nothing to see and everything to hear and feel. It’s like the heat of a club night but without the silly sparkles, or a meditation in the presence of people you cannot see. It’s a personal and interpersonal experience all at once. It’s a cycle of service by letting go, giving back and receiving! JAM IN THE DARK!”

JAM IN THE DARK can be straightforward or complex, depending on how one perceives the experience. It houses a variety of musicians who possess ranging instruments in a void where nothing can be seen, but all is heard and felt.

The skill level of the musician does not matter (to a degree)

The level of experience the musician possess does not matter (to a degree)

The look of the artist, musician or viewers won’t even matter because nothing will be visible, but all will be heard.

JAM IN THE DARK abandons visual sensory to explore enhanced dynamics regarding the auditory, somatosensory, gustatory and olfactory systems.

The first person experience of JAM IN THE DARK transcends that of the third person (i.e. archived footage). Like a “one time only” encounter, the vibes that are given out (from the musicians) and received (from the attendees) will always differ and no jam is the same since everything is improvised.

“The cover of the book is abandoned. The pages may take us anywhere.”

Here is one very cool artist and one very cool competition.

The first is the art of Korean born Do Ho Suh whose installations explore personal space versus public space.   His tiny figures are valiant, almost heroic, in their herculean struggles.  They hold up floors (literally), they attempt to escape oppression (metaphorically), they inverse the entire concept of public space (symbolically).  Suh’s installations suggest that in an age of individuality there is strength in numbers and homogeneity.  In his “Public Figures”, Suh does a complete 360 by transforming the traditional column/pedestal usually associated with public homage to an individual’s greatness into a commemoration of  the collective whole.  Suh’s “Public Figures” is not about some important historic figure whose significance most of us only vaguely recall.  Instead, it is a sculptural salute to humanity and our joint accomplishments.  Together, you can perform great feats – this is what Suh’s art seems to say.  Suh takes public art -in this case public art within the interior of a city hall which, as an “official” state building, is the traditional domain of esteemed individuals we may or may not recall from history classes – and gives it back to us.  As such, “Public Figures” becomes a spiritual reclamation.

Do Ho Suh's "Public Figures"

Do Ho Suh's "Karma", 2003, courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery

Do Ho Suh's "Floor", 1997-2000, courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery

What I wish could be an annual event is Babelgum’s 2009 Metrolopis Art Prize Competition where artists were invited to submit either a video of their work or a work of video art (no longer than five minutes)  The prize?  Twenty thousand dollars PLUS the opportunity to have their video showcased on one of the Times Square billboards.  In a world where art is increasingly moving away from the walls of museums and galleries – what better venue!

The winner?  Christopher Coleman’s “The Magnitude of the Continental Divides”.  The video explores war and its magnitude of division between continents and people.  It oscillates between retreat and attack with the individual left in limbo.

Still from Christopher Coleman's "The Magnitude of the Continental Divides"

An ad for Volkswagon, but very cool what creative thinking can do!

What you’re looking at is Edgar Mueller’s large-sized street painting (280 square meters).  Executed for the Prairie Arts Festival, 2009, (held in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) Turning Riverstreet into a River is the biggest 3D sidewalk painting to date.  Local artists helped him execute the piece which turned Riverstreet into a river culminating in the “falls”.

The non-permanence of a lot of the contemporary art we see these days is something I’ve been thinking about lately.  Walk into any gallery or art fair and video art seems to be on the rise which I suppose is a reflection of our time.  More on this later…

Things I came across this week and definitely don’t find cool – The “Head Lice” exhibit that opened last year (April, 2008) at the Museum of Bat Yam, Tel Aviv.  The perimeters set by the museum centered on the theme  of “hosting and guests”.  Artists from around the world were invited to submit their proposals.  Seven artists from Germany were the winners with their proposal to live at the museum (thus the “guest” part) with their lice-infested hair (thus the “host” part).   To the artists’ credit, they did wear shower caps, but still… I don’t get why anyone would call this art.  Does this mean that the next time your child is sent home with head lice, you should put a shower cap on them and immediately send them back to school with a note – Please don’t interfere with art?

I think if anyone is going to host anything on their heads, someone with dreadlocks should build a nest and host a bird saved from an oil slick – honestly, that would actually make more sense (to me anyway).

*The work appearing on the Home Page Top Bar/Thumbnail is Edgar Mueller’s Turning Riverstreet into a River (Prairie Arts Festival, 2009, held in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan)

Performance artist Liu Bolin paints himself into his surroundings, literally disappearing into the backdrop.  His performances explore the loss of our humanity in today’s society.  His transformations are an attempt to blend the old with the new – to accept new art while respecting the old.  He has performed in China, the U.K., France, and Italy.  His next performance will involve his “disappearance” mid-air while on a plane.

]]> http://www.checkoutart.ca/cool-stuff/where-has-our-humanity-disappeared-to-the-performance-art-of-liu-bolin/feed/ 0 http://www.checkoutart.ca/cool-stuff/checkoutcool-stuff-reality-marries-the-virtual/ http://www.checkoutart.ca/cool-stuff/checkoutcool-stuff-reality-marries-the-virtual/#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:31:22 +0000 Athena Paradissis http://www.checkoutart.ca/?p=1872 Thought this was interesting given yesterday’s posting on Cao Fei’s art, plus Edi Rogers’ commentary on audience participation.  Performance art or just out of touch?