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James Lee Byars tribute exhibition at MOCAD

March 9 2014 at 11:00 AM

MOCAD

I Cancel All My Works at Death is the first comprehensive survey of the plays, actions and performances of James Lee Byars (Detroit 1932 - Cairo 1997; Wayne State class of '55). Spanning the period from 1960 (when he created his first action in Kyoto, Japan) to 1981 (when de Appel arts centre in Amsterdam presented a year-long survey), the exhibition, which is titled after Byars' now-famous speech act, adopts the premise that the artist and his work are better mis-remembered than re-experienced. I Cancel All My Works at Death therefore presents none of his actual performances; nor does it include objects made, owned or used by him, nor vintage ephemera--with the exception of obituaries published in newspapers at the time of his death. What it does include are suits and costumes, scripts, theater posters, props, puppet videos, a detailed timeline, among other elements. It also includes new, un-authored solo actions and group events that will be carried out sparingly and intermittently during the run of the show. The exhibition is curated by Triple Candie, a phantom-like institution that existed in Harlem as an alternative space from 2001 to 2010. Run by two art historians who now live in Philadelphia, Triple Candie produces exhibitions about art but devoid of it and realized without the involvement of artists. Recent projects include Epigraphe pour une preface: The Original is Unfaithful to the Copy (FRAC Le Plateau, Paris, 2013), Of the Siren and the Sky: The Life and Work of Michael Whipple (Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, 2013) and Maurizio Cattalan is Dead: Life and Work, 1960-2009 (Deste Foundation, Athens, 2010). At the request of Triple Candie, this exhibition is dramaturged by Jens Hoffmann, MOCAD's guest curator. http://www.mocadetroit.org/about.html

'Foodture' and 'UMWELT' in the Elaine L. Jacob Gallery

March 11 2014 at 10:00 AM

Old Main

Foodture: PlantBot Genetics(featured on the lower level of the gallery) UMWELT: Ryuta Nakajima(featured on the upper level of the gallery) Dates: January 31 through April 11, 2014Gallery Hours: Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10AM to 6PM; and Fridays, 10AM to 7PM The James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History’s Elaine L. Jacob Gallery is pleased to present Foodture by PlantBot Genetics and UMWELT by Ryuta Nakajima, January 31 through April 11, 2014. PlantBot Genetics and the Monsantra Series The PlantBot Genetics Corporation parodies and satirically comments on the aggressive and potentially misleading practices of biotech companies. We can only guess what will happen to the world’s food supply after subsequent generations of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and other transgenic modifications are inserted into food crops. In answer to this state of affairs, PlantBot Genetics Inc. grafts plants onto animatronic and remote controlled bases to create organisms with no clear heritage and no clear future. Our bizarre creations emphasize the ridiculousness of actual biotech products through corporate graphics, product descriptions, and marketing techniques. Our company’s chief-selling brand “Monsantra” is named, after Monsanto, the world’s largest supplier and producer of genetically modified seed. Like a B-movie Godzilla, Monsantra and other engineered PlantBots become a hybrid of imagination, possibility, and reality, asking the question, “What will it all become?” PlantBot Genetics can visit you! The artist team of Wendy DesChene (Canada) and Jeff Schmuki (USA) couple interdisciplinary art practices with current scientific knowledge on the environmental and social costs of bioengineered crops. PlantBots are created from recycled, battery powered, animatronic toys that are repurposed and unleashed onto unsuspecting audiences as a means to create conversations about sustainable alternatives and grassroots action. In gallery settings, PlantBots are displayed as if in a real laboratory setting complete with field notes and videos of their unique genetic history. The lab setting makes use of dioramas and self-contained incubators, where at the push of a button, PlantBots sing, dance, and move about the gallery to interact. Such robo-plant exhibitions and street interventions motivate communities to question industrial food production, where food comes from and where it may be going. PlantBot Genetics provokes investigations into current agricultural practices and inspires individuals to think more critically about their connection to what they eat and the natural world. - Wendy DesChene + Jeff Schmuki, Co-founders of PlantBot GeneticsRyuta Nakajima When considering contemporary visual culture in all of its myriad complexity, cross-cultural influences, and styles drawn from disparate periods, one may be moved to ask such existential questions as why do we make images, where do they come from and what is their primary function? In order to answer these rather difficult questions, the exhibition UMWELT focuses on the adaptive coloration of Pharaoh cuttlefish (Sepia Pharaonis) as an empirical and biological model, a model that codes and re-maps visual information such as avant-garde paintings, photographs, and video. More specifically, the adaptive coloration of the cuttlefish, which is triggered by both lateral and longitudinal visual stimuli sensing natural elements (sand, mud, seaweed, coral reef, etc.), is modeled with various types of digital images replacing the natural elements. The collected data from these experiments is then used to create a series of photographs and video installations. This process may not only uncover certain key information needed to understand the origin of visual communication, but also function as a catalyst that will redirect our culture away from the ever simulated hyper-reality. In turn, this exploration may create a truly valuable interdisciplinary platform to discuss the current trends in both art and science. -Ryuta Nakajima

James Lee Byars tribute exhibition at MOCAD

March 13 2014 at 11:00 AM

MOCAD

I Cancel All My Works at Death is the first comprehensive survey of the plays, actions and performances of James Lee Byars (Detroit 1932 - Cairo 1997; Wayne State class of '55). Spanning the period from 1960 (when he created his first action in Kyoto, Japan) to 1981 (when de Appel arts centre in Amsterdam presented a year-long survey), the exhibition, which is titled after Byars' now-famous speech act, adopts the premise that the artist and his work are better mis-remembered than re-experienced. I Cancel All My Works at Death therefore presents none of his actual performances; nor does it include objects made, owned or used by him, nor vintage ephemera--with the exception of obituaries published in newspapers at the time of his death. What it does include are suits and costumes, scripts, theater posters, props, puppet videos, a detailed timeline, among other elements. It also includes new, un-authored solo actions and group events that will be carried out sparingly and intermittently during the run of the show. The exhibition is curated by Triple Candie, a phantom-like institution that existed in Harlem as an alternative space from 2001 to 2010. Run by two art historians who now live in Philadelphia, Triple Candie produces exhibitions about art but devoid of it and realized without the involvement of artists. Recent projects include Epigraphe pour une preface: The Original is Unfaithful to the Copy (FRAC Le Plateau, Paris, 2013), Of the Siren and the Sky: The Life and Work of Michael Whipple (Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, 2013) and Maurizio Cattalan is Dead: Life and Work, 1960-2009 (Deste Foundation, Athens, 2010). At the request of Triple Candie, this exhibition is dramaturged by Jens Hoffmann, MOCAD's guest curator. http://www.mocadetroit.org/about.html

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