calendario eventi  :: 

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8/7/2014

Two exhibitions

Bric, New York

Transcommunality: Laura Anderson Barbata, Collaboration Beyond Borders

BRIC is pleased to present Transcommunality: Laura Anderson Barbata, Collaboration Beyond Borders this summer at BRIC House. The exhibition documents the work of Mexican-born, New York-based artist Laura Anderson Barbata; focusing on the decade-long project she pursued with stilt-walking communities in Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and Brooklyn. Her project highlights the vitality of the moko jumbie stilt walking tradition and demonstrates the possibility of using this storied art form as a platform for social contemporary performance, group participation and protest. Spanning from 17 feet tall to just 11 inches small, the works presented in the exhibition range from textile-based to sculptural objects, as well as photographs, videos, and projections that document the collaborative projects. Overall, the exhibition comprises approximately 60 pieces including over 20 towering dressed figures and 23 alebrijes (miniature wooden figures). A traveling exhibition, the presentation of Transcommunality at BRIC House will be the inaugural showing in the United States, on view July 10-August 31, 2014, with an opening reception on July 9 from 7-9pm. BRIC House is located at 647 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn; admission is free.

Moko jumbies are stilt walkers or dancers involved in street performance. The tradition originated in West Africa and was then brought to the Caribbean via the slave trade. The word “moko” is derived from the name of an African deity, and “jumbie” is a West Indian word for “spirit” or “ghost.” Frequently a part of festivals and celebrations such as Carnival, the tradition all but died out in the 20th century until the Keylemanjahro School of Arts and Culture was established in 1986 in Cocorite, Trinidad and Tobago. The school aims to keep young people from Cocorite (an underserved neighborhood of Port of Spain) off the street. With this group, Anderson Barbata collaborated on thematic productions of concurrent moko jumbie activities, filming the performances (which were aired nationally on TV) and connecting participants to larger groups of creative professionals. Anderson Barbata’s Moko Jumbie project, showcased in the Transcommunality exhibition, began in 2001 out of her involvement with the school, and presents her work with stilt walking groups in Trinidad and Tobago; Oaxaca, Mexico; and Brooklyn, New York. The title of the exhibition, Transcommunality, is based on the concept of building bridges between international communities, in this case, with those practitioners who incorporate stilt dancing into their lives as a way to maintain ancient tradition.

Laura Anderson Barbata is known for her participatory, collaborative art, often involving partnerships with local artisans. The relationships forged with collaborators and the cultural exchanges that take place are the most important components for the artist. Transcommunality encompasses community art, public art, social intervention, performance and sculpture, focusing on an artist who has dedicated her practice to confronting the hierarchies of so-called “fine art” and popular art, craft and folk traditions. In 2011, she designed a performance with the Brooklyn Jumbies called Intervention: Wall Street, engaging in the Occupy Wall Street movement and the social and economic issues it raised.

Transcommunality: Laura Anderson Barbata, Collaboration Beyond Borders has previously been presented at the Centro de las Artes de Nuevo León, Monterrey; Museo de la Ciudad de México, México, D.F.; and Museo Textil de Oaxaca, México. A book, published by Turner, was produced in conjunction. The exhibition at BRIC House will be the first showing in the United States, after which it will travel to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where the project will be part of the spring 2015 Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program. It will subsequently continue in Europe.

Associated Free Public Programs

A Conversation with the Artist and Dr. Edward J. Sullivan
July 15, 7-9pm
A discussion with Laura Anderson Barbata and Dr. Edward J. Sullivan, Helen Gould Sheppard Professor of the History of Art at the Institute of Fine Arts and Chair, Department of Art History, New York University.

Gallery Docent Tours
Tuesdays, 1:30-2pm

All events are FREE

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The air we swim in

Curated by Kelly Schroer
2014 Recipient of the BRIC Emerging Curator Fellowship

The air we swim in will be on view in the Project Room of BRIC House this summer. The exhibition is curated by Kelly Schroer, 2014 recipient of BRIC’s Emerging Curator Fellowship. Supporting and fostering the vision of a developing curator, the exhibition will focus on artists who create physical interactions with intangible elements that inhabit our same space, but are invisible to the human eye. The exhibition will feature artists Hanny Ahern, Thessia Machado, Eric Shows, and Palden Weinreb.

The title of the exhibition is sourced from Thessia Machado’s artist statement, in which she describes her visual interest in sound waves. This fascination with invisible elements in the air acts as a starting point in expressing our human need to make sense of the world around us. Through drawing, sculpture, and interactive installations, the artists exhibited in The air we swim in create tactile sensations out of sound waves, energy and light waves, breath, and microscopic particles. Thessia Machado’s interactive sculptures/instruments express sound as “malleable and responsive, physical matter;” Palden Weinreb attempts to solidify the properties of light waves in two dimensions, using graphite and wax; Eric Shows’ installation uses light as a point source that projects through glass, revealing surface variations and creating sound as a direct result; and Hanny Ahern visualizes breath through an interactive installation/sculpture using sensors and light bulbs. Through their engagement with unseen waves and particles, we are reminded of both our shortcomings and power as human beings.

Associated Public Programs
Live sound installation/performance by link (Thessia Machado)
July 30, 7-9pm
FREE

Image: Laura Anderson Barbata, Spontaneous intervention, Collaboration with the Brooklyn Jumbies, 2007

Press contacts:
Abby Clark, 718.683.5621, aclark@BRICartsmedia.org
John Wyszniewski, 718.643.9052, john@blakezidell.com

Opening Reception: July 9, 2014 · 7:00 PM-9:00 PM

BRIC Arts | Media House
647 Fulton Street (at Rockwell Place), Brooklyn, NY 11217
Facility Hours: Tues-Sat, 8am-10pm; Sun-Mon, 8am- 6pm
Gallery Hours: Tues-Sat, 10am-8pm; Sun, 10am-6pm, Closed Monday
Admission to BRIC House is always free!

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