"Performance Archiving Performance," a presentation of works that engage archive as medium, will be o For more information, visit redanceproject.org.
“Performance Archiving Performance,” a presentation of projects that engage archive as medium, is organized by Travis Chamberlain, Associate Curator of Performance, and on view in the Fifth Floor Resource Center from November 6–January 12. Performance archives seek to preserve some legible record of live art’s imprint on culture for future study; however, many argue that archived representations o
f performance cannot fully capture the nuances of ephemeral experience so essential to the form. Projects by a canary torsi, Jennifer Monson, Julie Tolentino, and Sara Wookey acknowledge these concerns by conceiving of the relationship between performance and archives as unique systems. Within these systems, the acts of recording, storing, indexing, and redistributing are as much a part of the work as the performance itself. As a result, the site of performance—its position in time, space, and form—is placed in question so that the actual process of archiving may be interpreted as its own mode of performance, its own singular event. PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS
a canary torsi: “The People to Come” (2012–13)
“The People to Come” is a project by a canary torsi, a group led by Yanira Castro whose work is anchored in live performance and extends into other media and online platforms. “The People to Come” is comprised of a website and performance installation, both of which are activated by a conditional relationship to the participation of audiences through a meticulously designed archiving system. By submitting a response to a prompt on the project website thepeopletocome.org, audiences provide inspiration for dancers who organize those submissions into scores. These scores are interpreted into dances, which can be observed in rehearsal, and performance as part of a live installation. Video documents of the performances are subsequently archived on the website alongside the original audience submissions, providing a lasting online portrait of the audience’s engagement with the project’s unique archiving mechanisms. a canary torsi will stage the closing of the online archive for “The People to Come” as a real-time archiving installation in the New Museum Theater, on view from December 11 and culminating in a special concert event on December 15 at 4 p.m. Jennifer Monson: Live Dancing Archive
Jennifer Monson’s “Live Dancing Archive” consists of three components—each constituting a specific approach to the practice of archiving ephemeral phenomena such as dance and the ongoing flux of environmental systems. These components include a video installation, a digital archive at livedancingarchive.org,, and a solo performance. The solo drawn from the contents of the digital archive establishes connections between Monson’s work in the ’90s, when her involvement in queer activism was affecting her choreography, and recently developed strategies to investigate phenomena such as animal migrations, geological formations, and watersheds. Placing natural ecosystems and archival systems in tandem, “Live Dancing Archive” sustains the choreographic processes of the artist in a dynamic relationship with the shifting environments that shape her research. Sara Wookey: “reDANCE” (2011–ongoing)
Founded by Sara Wookey, “reDANCE” is a platform for public engagement that features processes and re-enacted works of renowned choreographers of the Judson Dance Theater era performed by another generation of dance artists. Built as a kit-of-parts, and malleable and scalable depending on the needs of individual institutions and their audiences, “reDANCE” explores the immateriality of dance and its archival practices through live performance, workshops, and discussions. Topics include choreographic methodologies, generational transmission, adaptation, and reconstruction. Frequently presented within visual art institutions, “reDANCE” strategically initiates dialogues around legacy and impermanence in live art across disciplinary boundaries. Julie Tolentino: “The Sky Remains the Same” (2008–ongoing)
Exploring the body’s potential as both a medium and container of record, Julie Tolentino’s “The Sky Remains the Same” invites select collaborators to choose a work from their own performance history to archive into/onto the artist’s body. Anchored by individual contracts between Tolentino and the subjects of her archiving interest (who include Ron Athey, Franko B, David Dorfman, David Rousseve, and Lovett/Codagnone), each iteration of “The Sky Remains the Same” necessarily redefines the elements and processes for archiving a performance into/onto the body of another. This work produces a map of body-specific, contextual, and practical differences between each performance and its archive. Perhaps the contents of performance archives should not be valued for how closely they resemble the thing they seek to preserve, but for their fidelity to delineate difference. For more information, visit julietolentino.com. Julie Tolentino will archive three works selected for her by the artists Lovett/Codagnone, presented as part of a residency for “The Sky Remains the Same,” November 11–24 at the New Museum. The archiving process for this particular group of works is constituted by a series of open studios, panels, and public performances.
02/03/2014
"While there is undeniable value to gathering objects from performances such as costumes, props, and ephemera, video offers an irreplaceable key to understanding temporal works. Moving images are the best window we have into the past—no amount of caption text or notes from scripts can convey the look and feel of this pivotal time! Franklin Furnace is pleased to be working in collaboration with Artstor to bring video documentation of our performance art events to a broad scholarly audience."
Artstor to release performance videos from Franklin Furnace
We are delighted to announce that Artstor is collaborating with the Franklin Furnace Archive to introduce videos in the Digital Library in the coming months. Franklin Furnace has been championing p...
01/07/2014
Performance Archiving Performance - New Museum closes at the end of this week, but this season's archiving frenzy continues with Split Britches "Desperate Archives" at La Mama Galleria (right down the street), on view through January 19. "In this exhibition, Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver of Split Britches re-purpose their own archival material from the last 20 years of work together in order to explore the issues of having, holding, and letting go." You can catch both exhibitions this week in one fell swoop if you're feeling particularly ambitious!
La MaMa » Desperate Archives
La MaMa is a world renowned cultural institution recognized as the seed bed of new work by artists of all nations and cultures.
01/03/2014
This article, out today in American Theater Magazine, profiles Ron Athey (and mentions the importance of his work alongside other New Museum artists Chris Burden, Karen Finley, Holly Hughes, Bob Flannagan, and David Wojnarowicz). Athey's work is currently on view at the New Museum through January 12, as archived by Julie Tolentino into/onto her body through her project "The Sky Remains the Same." Includes stunning video and physical artifacts from this unique archival process. Presented as part of Performance Archiving Performance - New Museum, a multi-platform presentation of projects that explore archive as medium.
Blood Sacrifice
Reflections on Ron Asthey's controversial 1994 performance and the ensuing political outrage involving the National Endowment for the Arts.
01/03/2014
Gia Kourlas from Time Out Magazine lists Jennifer Monson's "Live Dancing Archive" as her #1 pick for Best Dance of 2013. An exhibition edition of the "LDA" project is on view as part of Performance Archiving Performance - New Museum through January 12.
"Performances comprising both blood and flesh human beings and projected ones further problematise the issue of liveness and, in light of the massive effect of postmodern cultural and technological systems on human perception, they challenge the very nature of audience reception. Therefore, the question serving here as the basic axis for a reassessment of these concepts in light of the generic qualities of theatre and cinema as performative arts is: which artistic form is felt or seen to be the more alive, and not which is."
As part of a residency for “The Sky Remains the Same” November 11–23 at the New Museum, Julie Tolentino archived into/onto her body (and other bodies) three works selected for her by the artist duo Lovett/Codagnone: "Closer" (1999–2005), "For You" (2003), and "WEIGHTED" (2010). Video artifacts from the archival process for "Closer" and "For You" have now been added to the exhibition of this project as part of "Performance Archiving Performance" (on view through January 12, 2014).
"Closer" is a performance by Lovett/Codagnone that confronts gender assumptions and power structures. It was archived as a video installation with a mirror positioned next to dual projections of Tolentino performing each of Lovett/Codagnone's "roles" in the piece as they described the original documentation from off-screen in the form of direction which she then interpreted.
"For You" is a performance by Lovett/Codagnone in which they tether themselves to one another atop a spinning platform and remain frozen in a tango position while clenching an extremely sharp double-sided knife between their teeth. Seeking to archive the "feeling" of this work, a limited edition tattoo performed by Stephanie Tamez, and designed by the artists in residence, was archived into/onto the bodies of participating New Museum staff members on November 21 during an open studio.
An archival performance edition of "WEIGHTED" was presented on November 23 as a three-hour durational repetition of the same score, performed in sequential pairings by John Lovett, Alessandro Codagnone, Walter Dundervill, Julie Tolentino, and Stosh Fila.
12/16/2013
Kate Cahill, architect and iLAND collaborator, led a series of experiments and activities investigating location, navigation, and orientation inspired by animal migration. Participants engaged in map making and movement games in the Sky Room, drawing from personal experiences.
Families were invited to join Kate Cahill, architect and iLAND collaborator, for a series of experiments and activities that investigate location, navigation, and orientation inspired by animal migration. Participants engaged in different exercises, including map making and movement games that draw on their personal experiences. This program occured in the New Museum Sky Room and was organized by Michael Ano, Coordinator, Tours and Family Programs.
iLAND, founded by Jennifer Monson, is a dance research organization that investigates the power of dance in collaboration with other fields to illuminate our kinetic understanding of the world. Monson’s “Live Dancing Archive” is included as part of “Performance Archiving Performance,” which brings together projects by artists who use archives to examine the unique relationship between performance and preservation. “Live Dancing Archive” consists of three components—each constituting a specific approach to the practice of archiving ephemeral phenomena such as dance and the ongoing flux of environmental systems. These components include a video installation, a digital archive at livedancingarchive.org, and a solo performance. Placing natural ecosystems and archival systems in tandem, “Live Dancing Archive” sustains the choreographic processes of the artist in a dynamic relationship with the shifting environments that shape her research.
12/15/2013
All week, members of a canary torsi have been working overtime to process the remaining documentation from their project "The People to Come" as part of a live archiving installation at the New Museum. Today from 4pm-5pm the group presents a concert performance in which musicians from the project will improvise in response to a selection of material drawn from the archive. Come on down! And be sure to check out the exhibition that accompanies this concert "Performance Performance Archiving Performance - New Museum" on the 5th Floor.
FREE with Museum Admission, or $12 for Concert Only.
Today from 4pm-5pm *a canary torsi* presents a concert performance in which musicians from "The People to Come" will improvise in response to a selection of material drawn from that projects archive, which the group has been working to complete all week as part of an Open Studio installation. Come on down!
Also, be sure to check out the exhibition that accompanies this concert "Performance Performance Archiving Performance - New Museum" on the 5th Floor.
FREE with Museum Admission, or $12 for Concert Only
Today at 4pm: It's the final live event for Performance Archiving Performance - New Museum! All week, members of a canary torsi have been working overtime to process the remaining documentation from their project "The People to Come" as part of a live archiving installation at the New Museum. Today the group presents a live concert performance in which musicians from the project will improvise in response to a selection of material drawn from the archive. Come on down!
The People to Come: Closing the Archive Concert
Programmed in conjunction with “Performance Archiving Performance,” a presentation of works that engage archive as medium, on view in the Fifth Floor Resource Center from November 6, 2013–January 12, 2014. Musical collaborators from previous iterations of a canary torsi’s “The People to Come” reunit...
12/13/2013
New Museum staff served as a test audience and offered feedback after ESP teens tried out performance strategies that they developed with Yanira Castro.
12/13/2013
We've gotten a great response so far to the live archiving installation of The People to Come. You have three days left to see the process!
The People to Come: Live Archiving Installation – Open Studio
Free with Museum Admission. Presented in conjunction with “Performance Archiving Performance,” a multi-platform presentation of works that engage archive as medium, on view in the Fifth Floor Resource Center until January 12, 2014. As part of a live installation and open studio in the New Museum The...
12/12/2013
A CANARY TORSI is archiving this project in the theatre as we speak! The museum is open until 9pm tonight - come warm up with us and check out their process.
The People to Come
THE PEOPLE TO COME had its New York premiere June 25-29, 2013 at The Invisible Dog Art Center. PEOPLE is a participatory performance installation with live music…
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