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6/10/2003

Intervals

Artists' Television Access, San Francisco

(themes and variations on) relational space

interval n. 1. A space between two objects, points, or units. 2. The temporal duration between two specified instants, events, or states.

The work in "intervals" seeks to explore the pauses, the durations and the spaces in between the things that make up the structure of our lives. In our contemporary world where time has been unduly compressed into work schedules, advertising, newsclips and entertainment-induced attention spans, the artists in "intervals" have chosen to focus on the places and moments where seemingly nothing is happening. But, we're asking you to look again...

The show
intervals: (themes and variations on) relational space

Considering the void in everyday life and artistic practice
By Kathleen Quillian

The original idea for "intervals" came from a shared interest in the work of writer Samuel Beckett. Kent, my co-curator, and I had both harbored some not-so-secret obsessions about his work separately for a long time, and as we talked more about it we started making connections with other artists whose work resonated with his; most notably, sound artist/writer/poet John Cage and sculptor/conceptual/performance/video artist Bruce Nauman. These three represented for us the canon of artists who worked around the theme of "the void." We thought it intriguing that three very different artists could make very different work from such different approaches - Beckett with language, Cage with sound and Nauman with sculpture and performance.

What might be most misunderstand about this kind of artistic practice is that it's not really about nothing, it's more about what goes on in between everything else. The name of the show was chosen very carefully to make this point apparent. An interval is a space between two points, units or eventsx{2039}a space that is very ripe with potential, as opposed to being just an empty space where nothing is happening. Instead of appreciating this space for what it is, people are generally waiting for something to fill it in, and overlooking all that it has to offer. As John Cage made clear in his famous piece 4'33", there is so much that happens that is just as interesting, if not more interesting than the expected composition, if we would only pay attention to it. Similarly, Bruce Nauman made his name early on as an artist who literally made something out of nothing, by casting empty spaces between objects as well as exploring his relationship as an artist to his studio. Sam Beckett's famous play "Waiting for Godot" is literally about waitingx{2039}the duration of time in between events. This play, as with most of his work, is a metaphorical consideration of the human condition, and the tensions between faith and despair.

It has been fascinating to explore the ideas and the work of other artists who work within this context. The artists we chose to participate in "intervals" have approached the theme from many different directions, using all different types of media - video, film, performance, installation, sound and photography. Some of the work explores what happens when things are separated, others what happens when things are forced together, but generally what is taken for granted in those in-between spaces where nothing and everything happens.

Our culture has conditioned us to see things as a series of recognizable elements - whether in the chapters of the novel, the action scenes in the blockbuster films or the commodities of the consumer package. Time has been unduly compressed in this contemporary world of ours, by work schedules, by advertising, by newsclips, by entertainment-induced attention spans. The aim of "intervals" is to expand time, to air it out a little, and to shed new light on the many possibilities contained within it. Hopefully people will learn not to despair when they are confronted with emptiness and instead to appreciate it for what it has to offer.
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Film/video screenings and performances:

Program I: Thursday, October 16, 8pm and Friday, November 21, 8pm
Yin-Ju Chen, "Untitled_03", video
Howie Cherman, TV spots for "Formal Engagement", video
Stan Douglas, "Monodramas", video
Gilbert Guerrero, "Gilbert Performs a Film About Two People Sitting on a Park Bench or Brujería, con una Pelicula Robado del Teatro de Díos", film/sound performance
Charles Gute, "Untitled", video
Lindsay Ljungkull, "Scenes As A Film", super-8 transfer
Norman Long (on Oct. 16) sound performance
Norman Long, Charles Boone and friends (on Nov. 21), sound performance
Mechele Manno, "Appointment with Tom Marioni", video
Mike Missiaen, "Untitled", super-8 film
Jo Nigoghossian, "running from, running to, pulling over to piss or the sublime", video
Sarah Vogwill, "Electric Time", super-8 transfer
Lee Walton, "A somersault at the midpoint between my coffee table and my favorite bookstore", video

Program II: Friday, October 17, 8pm
Samuel Beckett's Happy Days starring Rosaleen Linehan and Richard Johnson, filmed in 2001 by Patricia Rozema for the Beckett On Film series (Blue Angel Films)

4 American Composers: John Cage, filmed by Peter Greenaway in 1983 for Channel Four Television/Transatlantic Films

Flour Arrangement (Bruce Nauman), filmed by Bill Allan, 1969
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In the gallery: October 7 - November 26

Installations by Megan Adie, Victor Barbieri, Howie Cherman, Curtis Hsiang, Mark Scheeff, Dana Sperry and Nanette Wylde; sound pieces by Ansurbana, Lorenza Lucchi Basili and Debra Scacco; photographs by Frank Abruzzese, Eirik Johnson and Naomi Miller.

Our impetus for the show stemmed from a mutual interest in the work of writer, Samuel Beckett; sound artist/poet/mushroom expert, John Cage; and sculptor/performance/video artist, Bruce Nauman - all artists who have spent their career exploring "the void" in their respective disciplines.

For more information, email: intervals@hotmail.com
http://www.intervls.com

Sign up on ATA's mailing list to find out more about upcoming events, including intervals, as well as the release of ATA's new webzine due for release in October 2003.

October 7 - November 26, 2003

Opening reception: Tuesday, Oct. 7, 7 - 10pm

Screenings and performances:
Program I - Thurs., Oct. 16 and Fri., Nov. 21, 8pm
Program II - Fri., Oct. 17, 8pm

Artists' Television Access
992 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 824-3890

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