Marina Abramovic - The Conditioning (1973/2005)
Santiago Sierra - Veterans (2011-13)
Local war veterans stand facing the walls of various museums and galleries in a two-year tour of performances.
“Sierra’s staged action, which mimics the common children’s punishment, can be seen as a representation of guilt and forced contemplation by an absent, invisible transgressor. Conversely, however, one may recognize the veteran’s occupation of the gallery as an act of silent protest. Silent, static and facing away from the viewer, the veterans continue Sierra’s complex use of negation to make visible opaque social situations. While remaining anonymous, each veteran brings reality and specificity into the viewer’s general perceptions of war and those who carry out its actions. The presence of the veteran references the relationship between power and guilt as well as the distance between the often cryptic political motives that lead to war and the experiences of those directly affected by its consequences.”
Installations by Anish Kapoor
This week at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The China Gansu Dance Theatre premieres its masterpiece,“Silk Road.”
Michelangelo Pistoletto - Seventeen Less One (2009)
On the evening of Grand Central Terminal’s 100th birthday, 135 Improv Everywhere participants staged a surprise performance in the grand windows on the terminal’s west side. Equipped with a variety of LED flashlights and camera flashes, performers appeared suddenly and unannounced along three floors of windows, creating a shower of light for the commuters and tourists below.
Full story: Grand Central Lights | Improv Everywhere
We were so excited to work with Improv Everywhere on this event! Big thanks to everyone involved!
Joseph Beuys - I Like America and America Likes Me (1974)
“A master of compelling performance pieces, Beuys flew to New York, picked up by an ambulance, and, swathed in felt, was transported to a room in the Rene Block Gallery. The room was also occupied by a wild coyote, and for a period of 8 hours a day for the next three days, Beuys spent his time with the coyote in the small room, with little more than a felt blanket and a pile of straw.
While in the room, the artist engaged in symbolist gestures, such as striking a triangle and tossing his gloves to the coyote.
At the end of the three days, the coyote, who had become quite tolerant of Beuys, allowed a hug from the artist, who was transported back to the airport via ambulance. He never set foot on outside American soil nor saw anything of America other than the coyote and the inside of the gallery.”
Funny man, radio personality and storyteller Garrison Keillor just turned 70. To celebrate this milestone, he scored his own show with the New York Philharmonic.
The End of Performance Art as We Know It
Marina Abramović wearing the model for her eponymous Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art (all images courtesy OMA)
