LOOK INTO MY OWL

A potent mixture of media from Nathaniel Mellors is on display at Lombard-Freid Projects in NYC. The installation “Giantbum” was produced for the 2009 Tate Britain Triennial and incorporates performance,video, sculpture and prints.

The story of “Giantbum” follows an absurdist script that chronicles the adventures of medieval explorers that have been ingested by a giant. Themes of language, religion, cannibalism and coprophagia are all fair game in this world. The content draws on tales from the past coupled with a contemporary sense of humor.

Two versions of the performance are projected in the gallery. The “theater” version parallels the “rehearsal” video drawing attention to alterations that occur throughout the creative process.

The highlight of the installation might be the three animatronic heads cast in the likeness of the lead character. They intone excerpts from the script and chant encouraging phrases that interact with the projected performances. You can see a short video of the trio in action right here.

Nathaniel Mellors
Giantbum
17 April – 16 May 2009
Lombard-Freid Projects
NYC

Jon Lamb, Ian Millard and Michael Ortiz have gotten together for a group show at the Andenken Gallery in Denver. “No Anunciar” exhibits individual works from all three artists and features an indoor collaborative mural. Here is a time-lapse video chronicling the creation of the four day project.

No Anunciar
Jon Lamb, Ian Millard and Michael Ortiz
3 – 24 April 2009
Andenken Gallery
Denver

Ian Millard has also just released a new print through his website. “Caler” is composed of India ink and spray paint in two editions of five. The print is available in green and red (below). Hurry up and grab yours here.

The brilliant minds behind Improv Everywhere are at it again. Following in the theme of “Best Ever”, the agents descended on the funeral for a man with few surviving relatives. The eight people that attended the burial were joined by thirty agents from IE making for a truly memorable inhumation.

The actors arrived a bit late but put on their best grieving faces and joined the mourners graveside. The family of the deceased were baffled by the turnout for a man that few cared about while he was alive.

Eventually the priest noticed the camera and the gig was up. Apparently the presence of a video camera is frowned upon at such occasions. Unfortunately the real mourners failed to recognize the thoughtfulness of the gesture and things turned ugly.

Improv Everywhere dropped this video yesterday, April 1. Everyone involved in the prank were actors and the funeral was fake. It was a nice prank and an amazing sociological experiment. Just check out the hundreds of comments this mission received on their website. Usually IE aims to confuse and delight people on the street, this time they went after the online public with great success. Get in on the next mission by joining the Urban Prankster Network.

Improv Everywhere
Best Funeral Ever
1 April 2009

“Flooded McDonald’s” is the second video from the Danish collective known as Superflex. This fascinating work is currently being screened at the South London Gallery.

A replica of a popular “burger bar” was created and then slowly flooded. The action was recorded as trays and fast food containers were lifted by the rising water. The visuals register as dream or nightmare depending on the dietary habits of the viewer.

Rasmus Nielsen, Jakob Fenger and Bjørnstjerne Christiansen have worked together for fifteen years as Superflex. Congratulations to the crew on their recent George Maciunas Award.

Superflex is known for collaborating with others. For “Flooded McDonald’s” direction was shared with Tuan Andrew Nguyen.

Superflex
Flooded McDonald’s
16 January – 1 March 2009
South London Gallery

Haunch of Venison has taken on the delightful task of displaying a diverse body of video work from Bill Viola. The installations will run the entire course of the exhibit while screenings of two older pieces will be held daily from February 5-15.

Bill Viola has chosen video as his oeuvre and has been producing with astonishing result for more than thirty five years. The growth of the art has been paralleled by advances in technology. Twenty years ago video as art suffered the limitations of the medium whereas now messages are conveyed without inhibition.

I always thought of Viola’s pieces as paintings plus time. The introduction of high resolution, flat screen monitors into the gallery setting has thoroughly smudged the line.

This exhibition is an excellent chance to see some past work. “Hatsu-Yume” (below) from 1981 and “The Passing” from 1991 are the two videos that will be screened daily.

Bill Viola
Installations/Screenings
9 January – 21 February 2009
Haunch of Venison
Berlin

“Funny Not Funny” a group show at Bellwether Gallery concluded this past weekend. There are several installation views available for download in the archives at the gallery’s website. The exhibition included mixed media works from seventeen artists and was curated by Becky Smith and Allison Kave.

The theme for the exhibit was centered on the absurd. A wide array of media was admitted from videos like “Normal” (above) from Tamy Ben-Tour to paintings like “Dick Jokes from Sherman Oaks” (below) by Wayne White.

The show extended to sculptural pieces and installations all worth a look. Sara Greenberger Rafferty even offered up a collection of found/bought photographs entitled “Learning to Love Phyllis Diller on Ebay.”

Several strong pieces rounded out the show including art from Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Daphne Fitzpatrick, Dana Frankfort, Everest Hall, Jamie Isenstein, Rachel Mason, Shana Moulton, Chihcheng Peng, Jesse Finley Reed, David Shrigley, Michael Smith, Kirsten Stoltmann, Ryan Trecartin & Lizzie Fitch and Cintra Wilson.

Funny Not Funny
20 November 2008 – 17 January 2009
Bellwether Gallery
NYC

A.L. Steiner & robbinschilds brought their collective talents to the New Museum for a multimedia exhibition. Although I was a bit late in posting (the show ended last week) it is still worth a look.

C.L.U.E. or color location ultimate experience is an ongoing project that reacts to and becomes part of the environment that it inhabits. The exhibit at the New Museum featured original performances, interventions and a multichannel video installation. Each evening at sunset an outdoor video projection of C.L.U.E. was visible outside. This street installation was a commendable move by the New Museum encouraging pedestrians to begin a dialog with the work even if it was unlikely that they would step inside.

It is difficult to comprehend the weight of the performances from the still imagery. Check this link for video of the pair in action. Each exploit is unique with an underlying sense that the human element has been transformed into color. The movements of robbinschilds decode the body into furniture and the duo often treat each other as such.

The collaborative effort also included work from AJ Blandford and the Seattle based band Kinski.

C.L.U.E.
A.L. Steiner and robbinschilds
8 October 2008 – 11 January 2009
New Museum
NYC

Kate Gilmore is showing four videos at Smith-Stewart. Three were created this year and the fourth was made from a site specific performance in the gallery.

Gilmore sets the stage for her temerarious performances and lets the camera roll as the action occurs in one take. The work is centered on ideas of breaking down barriers that either confine or support. Denouement occurs through the search for freedom along the path to self destruction.

Each performance is highlighted with wardrobe choices that are at odds with the violent behavior. The artist wears construction yellow high heels in “Between a Hard Place” (below) and proceeds to use them to kick large holes through five layers of gray drywall. Gilmore continues through each wall along a twenty four foot corridor until she exposes a final surface that has been painted yellow to match the heels.

Be sure to head over to Kate Gilmore’s website to watch clips from her videos.

Kate Gilmore
21 November 2008 – 18 January 2009
Smith-Stewart
NYC