The Art Institute Of Chicago Presents ITERATIONS

By: Feb. 21, 2019
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The Art Institute Of Chicago Presents ITERATIONS

The Art Institute of Chicago presents Iterations, a new series of performance commissions opening in 2019 and running through 2021 that underline the wide range of artistic practices and attitudes in performance today. New works by Alexandra Bachzetsis, Math Bass, Cevdet Erek, Ralph Lemon, Paulina Olowska, Cally Spooner, and Evelyn T. Wang-anchored in choreography, sound art, spoken word performance, installation, music, gesture and movement research-explore how performance practice might be situated in the context of the Art Institute of Chicago.

This iterative program unfolds over the course of three years (2019-2021). Each commission will take on radically different frequencies and durations, exploring how event, duration and installation-based formats are being redefined in performance today. Choosing different locations throughout the museum, from galleries and interstitial sites to auditorium spaces, the artists in Iterations consider the place of performance amid the Art Institute's encyclopedic collection. At the core of these inquiries into how and where performance can take place in the museum, is the process of commissioning-engaging in a long-term dialogue with artists about the conception, production of, and care for a new performance work at the Art Institute.

Hendrik Folkerts, Dittmer Curator of Contemporary Art and curator of Iterations, emphasizes this notion of care: "Museums revolve around care-for instance, the care for exhibitions and objects in the collection. But how can museums take care of moving bodies, of words being uttered and installations that change and shift over time? How can such artistic practices impact the ways in which space and time is understood in the museum context, in terms of the collection, architecture and space, hospitality and visitor engagement? Iterations presents a unique opportunity to work with and learn from living artists, to see how their work can move through, live in and become part of the Art Institute."

The first installment of Iterations opens on February 28, with a newly commissioned installation and performance by Cevdet Erek (born 1974, Istanbul) in the Art Institute's Griffin Court. Erek's practice as a musician, architect, and visual artist revolves around sound as a measure for space, time, and the world around us. Erek's new work, chiçiçiçichiciçi, uses the gallery wall in Griffin Court as instrument, soundtrack and graphic notation. Conflating representation and performance, Erek adds various forms of visual and written language to the wall-all variations of the work's onomatopoeic title-while the same wall is host to architectural elements that can be played as instruments. Erek's own prerecorded sound permeates Griffin Court through a 16-channel sound installation, in order to suggest a pace, to impact how our bodies navigate space, and to designate a shifting proximity to architecture and sound.

Erek's installation will be on view until April 21, 2019, following the inaugural performance on February 28, at 6:00pm.

Iterations continues in 2019 with the following presentations:

Cally Spooner (British, born 1983)
DEAD TIME (a crime novel)
April 22-28

Alexandra Bachzetsis (Swiss, born 1974)
Chasing a Ghost
October 31-November 2, performances daily

Future installments in 2020 and 2021 include:
Math Bass (American, born 1981)
Ralph Lemon (American, born 1952)
Paulina Olowska (Polish, born 1976)
Evelyn T. Wang (Chinese, born 1982)

Iterations is curated by Hendrik Folkerts (Dittmer Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Institute of Chicago).

Iterations is made possible through the foundational support of the Society of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.



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