Events at the New Museum

A Proposition by Slavs and Tatars: Reverse Joy, with special guest Dr. Hamid Dabashi Saturday, February 11, 2012 | 12:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:14:48 -0600

Reverse Joy looks at Muharram, the perpetual protest at the heart of the Shi’a faith, for its radical reconsideration of history, progress, if not time itself. Inserting oneself, flesh and faith, into events that transpired thirteen centuries ago, the collapse of traditional understandings of time, the reversal of roles of men and women, and joy through mourning all demand an equally elastic and muscular understanding of the sacred and the profane that is the down payment towards any meaningful social change. Reverse Joy looks at the complex constellation of Muharram—the vernacular architecture, crafts, rituals, and narrative—which over the course of a millennium has taken on a near-cosmic significance, beyond regional rivalries, and possibly beyond the faith itself to impact notions of identity, mysticism, protest, and resistance in the world at large.

Propositions is a public forum that explores ideas in development. Each two-day seminar introduces a topic of current investigation in an invited speaker's own artistic or intellectual practice. Over the course of a seminar session, these developing ideas are responded to, researched, and discussed to propel them forward in unique ways.

The Proposition this month is by Slavs and Tatars.

Slavs and Tatars is a faction of polemics and intimacies devoted to an area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China known as Eurasia. The collective’s work spans several media, disciplines, and a broad spectrum of cultural registers (high and low) focusing on an oft-forgotten sphere of influence between Slavs, Caucasians, and Central Asians. Their work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Hamid Dabashi is the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York, the oldest and most prestigious Chair in his field. He has taught and delivered lectures in many North and Latin American, European, Arab, and Iranian universities. He is a founding member of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, as well as a founding member of the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University. He has written twenty books, edited four, and contributed chapters to many more. He is also the author of over 100 essays, articles, and book reviews in major scholarly and peer-reviewed journals on subjects ranging from Iranian Studies, medieval and modern Islam, comparative literature, world cinema, and the philosophy of art (trans-aesthetics). A selected sample of his writing is co-edited by Andrew Davison and Himadeep Muppidi, The World is my Home: A Hamid Dabashi Reader (Transaction 2010). Dabashi is the series editor of “Literatures and Cultures of the Islamic World” for Palgrave Macmillan and the founder of Dreams of a Nation, a Palestinian Film Project, dedicated to preserving and safeguarding Palestinian Cinema.

Saturday, February 11, 2012 | 12:00 PM

“The Ungovernables” Artists Roundtable Q&A, moderated by Eungie Joo Thursday, February 16, 2012 | 7:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:20:30 -0600

As part of the 2012 New Museum Triennial, over twenty participating artists join curator Eungie Joo in a conversation about their practices. This informal conversation revolves around the pressing questions Triennial artists want to pose to each other in an effort to open an ongoing conversation within this generation of remarkable practitioners.

“The Ungovernables” is an exhibition about the urgencies of a generation who came of age after the independence and revolutionary movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Through both materials and form, works included in the exhibition explore impermanence and an engagement with the present and future. Many of the works are provisional, site-specific, and performative reflecting an attitude of possibility and resourcefulness. The 2012 New Museum Triennial features thirty-four artists, artist groups, and temporary collectives, many of whom have never before exhibited in the US.

For a full description of the exhibition and related events, please visit the exhibition page.

Banner Image:
Jonathas de Andrade, 4000 Disparos (4000 Shots)

Thursday, February 16, 2012 | 7:00 PM

“The Ungovernables” Artist Talk: Invisible Borders Trans-African Photography Project Saturday, February 18, 2012 | 3:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:25:12 -0600

Invisible Borders Trans-African Photography Project is an artist-led initiative with a drive and urge to effect change in society. The vision of the initiative is to become a symbol of networking and trans-border associations within the arts and within the field of photography in Africa. In addition, it is to become a stepping stone for emerging talents in the continent, in such a way that it creates a breeding ground for young artists to think beyond borders at the beginning stage of their creative quest.

The mission of the initiative is: To tell Africa’s stories, by Africans, through photography and inspiring artistic interventions; to encourage the exposure of up-and-coming African photographers to art and photography as practiced in other parts of the continent; to establish a platform that encourages and embraces trans-African artistic relationships within the continent; and to contribute to the sociopolitical discourse shaping twenty-first century Africa.

The goal is to constantly spread and share knowledge and information, cutting across the demarcating lines of class and literacy, thereby expanding the art public to include more of the local audience and the “layman.” The activities aim to cut through the local, national, and international, and to create points of interaction between these various levels, hence the name “Invisible Borders.”

Invisible Borders includes: Nike Adesuyi-Ojeikere, Kemi Akin-Nibosun, Lucy Azubuike, Unoma Giese, Emmanuel Iduma, Uche James-Iroha, Ala Khier, Chidinma Nnorom, Chriss Aghana Nwobu, Nana Oforiatta-Ayim, Amaize Ojeikere, Emeka Okereke, Charles Okereke, Ray-Daniels Okeugo, Uche Okpa-Iroha, Tom Saater, and Jumoke Sanwo.

Banner Image:
30 Kilometres per hour. Gonda to Matema. Ethiopia. by Emeka Okereke. IB 2011

Saturday, February 18, 2012 | 3:00 PM

Damned Dogs + Soft Circle Friday, February 24, 2012 | 7:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:13:42 -0600

The mesmerizing, starlit songs of Michigan’s Damned Dogs are built from synthesizers, woodwinds, tape manipulations, and vocals. Band members, Amber Fellows and Fred Thomas, blur and recombine these elements in the reflection of a dreamer’s narrative—the weightlessness of sleep, the menace of nightmare—combining a deep respect for melody with a wordless, descriptive spirit. Fellows and Thomas follow the rich history of psychically-connected duos, channeling the cobwebbed harmonies of Windy and Carl, the underwater haze of Boards of Canada, and the visionary explorations of Areski and Brigitte Fontaine.

As Soft Circle, Hisham Akira Bharoocha and Ben Vida have created an explorative, deeply fun hybrid of seeminly distant sounds. Medatitive drones, shimmering pop, microtonal experiments, and rigorous, pounding dance music. For their New Museum performance, Soft Circle are creating a bespoke electronic set, illumating the distances they’ve traveled since performing at the very first Get Weird performance in February 2008.

Friday, February 24, 2012 | 7:00 PM

Public Movement: “SALONS: Birthright Palestine?” March 1, 2012 – April 21, 2012

NewMuseum.org — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:32:12 -0600

Co-presented with Artis Contemporary Israeli Art Fund.

Organized by Public Movement, “SALONS: Birthright Palestine?” is a series of performative public debates, specifically staged as congressional sessions, summit meetings, visioning sessions, diplomatic consultations, secret gatherings, and demonstrations. Extending the exhibition beyond the museum, each salon takes place in different locations throughout Manhattan.

“SALONS: Birthright Palestine?” will: celebrate the choreographies of Birthright ideological youth journeys to Israel; examine the status of New York Muslim communities as well as the uses and misuses of political branding; deconstruct the role played by Birthright in the production of the American Jewish community/lobby; and consider the appropriation of such strategies toward the potential creation of Birthright Palestine. In collaboration with local communities, academics, activists, and specialists, “SALONS: Birthright Palestine?” performs strategic research towards the final Public Movement action for New York City. In the final salon, the public will vote on whether to initiate Birthright Palestine.

About Public Movement
Public Movement is a performative research group which investigates and stages political actions in public spaces. In the last five years, Public Movement has explored the regulations, forces, agents, and policies, formations of identity and systems of ritual which govern the dynamics of public life and public space. Public Movement has organized events, rituals, and political situations through consultation and collaboration with scholars, experts, and ongoing group debates and discussions. The Movement was founded in November 2006 by co-leaders Omer Krieger and Dana Yahalomi until August 2011 when Yahalomi assumed sole leadership. Public Movement actions take place in public space and in collaboration with art, theatre, dance, and academic institutions in Israel and abroad.

March 1, New Museum: SALON 1 – Rebranding Park51 Muslim Community Center
March 13, The New School: SALON 2 – Visioning Session for Return
March 25, The Jewish Community Center (JCC ): SALON 3 – Birthright as Public Choreography
April 5, Artists Space: SALON 4 – Deconstructing Birthright Israel
April 15, New Museum: SALON 5 – Birthright Palestine? Debate/Vote
April 21, Final Action for New York City

Image: Public Movement: Positions, Washington Square (2011), 2011. Photo: Jesse Untracht-Oakner

March 1, 2012 – April 21, 2012

Public Movement: SALON 1 – Rebranding Park51 Muslim Community Center Thursday, March 1, 2012 | 7:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:58:12 -0600

Co-presented with Artis Contemporary Israeli Art Fund.

SALON 1 will feature branding experts presenting ideas on how to rebrand Park51 (the so-called ''Ground Zero Mosque'') to members of the public, who will be cast in the role of Park51 board members. At the end of the salon, the public will vote on the best proposal.

Park51 is a planned community center "inspired by Islamic values and Muslim heritage” that has faced much public controversy over its proximity to the former site of the World Trade Center and 9/11 attacks.

About “SALONS: Birthright Palestine?”
Organized by Public Movement, “SALONS: Birthright Palestine?” is a series of performative public debates, specifically staged as congressional sessions, summit meetings, visioning sessions, diplomatic consultations, secret gatherings, and demonstrations. Extending the exhibition beyond the museum, each salon takes place in different locations throughout Manhattan.

Thursday, March 1, 2012 | 7:00 PM

New Museum First Saturdays for Families: NEW Monuments Saturday, March 3, 2012 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:17:29 -0600

Some monuments are big, some old, some can inspire, and some commemorate while others celebrate. A monument can be anything from the Greek Parthenon to Dutch windmills to the Brooklyn Bridge and even a statue of Mickey Mouse. Join the New Museum in creating our own monuments and explore ideas of monumentality as seen in the New Museum Triennial “The Ungovernables,” paying special attention to Adrián Villar Rojas’s decomposing structures, Danh Võ’s reconstruction of the Statue of Liberty, and Julia Dault’s performative abstractions.

New Museum First Saturdays for Families are free of charge. This program is designed and recommended for families with children aged between four and fifteen years and includes free New Museum admission for up to two adults per family. Children under eighteen are always admitted free. No preregistration is required. Space is limited and tickets are given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Your entire party must be present; tickets will not be given to partial parties.

Saturday, March 3, 2012 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

A Proposition by House of Natural Fiber March 8 – 9, 2012

NewMuseum.org — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:44:07 -0600

The structure of this Propositions is as follows:
Thursday, 7 p.m.–Initial proposition and lecture
Friday, 7 p.m.–Guest speaker responds, followed by discussion with audience

The Proposition this month is by House of Natural Fiber.

House of Natural Fiber, Yogyakarta, is a New Media art laboratory founded in 1999. They concentrate on the principles of critique and innovation. Since the beginning, the House of Natural Fiber has consistently focused on cultural development and New Media art, running numerous New Media art projects and workshops. In every project they concentrate on interactivity with people and environments. In the implementation of their positive and creative vision, they work towards the development of art with technology in every program. This desire to contemplate the future of technology and art is an important endeavor for the technology itself.

Banner Image:
House of Natural Fiber, VJ school, organized by House of Natural Fiber, part of cellsbutton: Yogyakarta International Media Art Festival, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2007

March 8 – 9, 2012

Public Movement: SALON 2 – Visioning Session for Return Tuesday, March 13, 2012 | 6:30 PM

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:03:40 -0600

Co-presented with Artis Contemporary Israeli Art Fund.

SALON 2 will feature academic experts presenting positions on scholarly issues related to a Palestinian right of return. Topics will include religion and secularism, the dynamics of nationalism and diaspora, definitions of citizenship, ideas of return, the possibility of financial compensations for displaced Palestinians, and the status of the Palestinian community in New York. Members of the public will be called upon to register their own positions.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 | 6:30 PM

Independent Curators International and the New Museum present The Curator's Perspective: Rosina Cazali Saturday, March 17, 2012 | 3:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:30:50 -0600

Rosina Cazali speaks at the Curator’s Perspective, an itinerant public discussion series that features international curators who distill current happenings in contemporary art, including the artists they are excited by, exhibitions that have made them think, and their views on recent developments in the art world. Cazali is the former director of the Centro Cultural de España of Guatemala. She currently works as an art critic and curator.

About Independent Curators International

Independent Curators International (ICI) produces exhibitions, events, publications, and training opportunities for diverse audiences around the world. In thirty-five years, ICI has organized 118 traveling exhibitions, profiling the work of more than 3,700 artists. The resulting networks include 621 museums, university art galleries, and art centers in forty-eight states and twenty-nine countries. A catalyst for independent thinking, ICI connects emerging and established curators, artists, and institutions, to forge international networks and generate new forms of collaboration. Working across disciplines and historical precedents, the organization is a hub that provides access to the people, ideas, and practices that are key to current developments in the field, inspiring fresh ways of seeing and contextualizing contemporary art.

curatorsintl.org

Saturday, March 17, 2012 | 3:00 PM

Keyboard Kid Friday, March 23, 2012 | 7:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:29:37 -0600

Combining a positive mental attitude, a penchant for emotive, hard-rolling tones, and an unparalleled work ethic, Keyboard Kid has emerged as the preeminent producer of ethereal, spacious hip hop. Beyond his status as Lil B’s primary producer, Keyboard Kid has provided beats for rappers including Soulja Boy, Main Attrakionz, and Mista F.A.B., and released a series of instrumental albums. Scraps of emotionally-weighted melody from pop songs and electronic music are assembled with clockwork precision into hypnotic, visionary compositions.

Photo: Brandon Pena

Friday, March 23, 2012 | 7:00 PM

Public Movement: SALON 3 – Birthright as Public Choreography Sunday, March 25, 2012 | 4:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:08:03 -0600

Co-presented with Artis Contemporary Israeli Art Fund.

SALON 3 will invite a group of recent Birthright Israel alumni to reunite and to relate/reconstruct their experiences and impressions of their trip in the format of a documentary theater program. A sociologist will provide a commentary after the performance, followed by an open discussion with the public. The Birthright Israel program sponsors free ten-day heritage trips for Jewish young adults from all over the world (mainly from the US) to Israel. Over 300,000 people have gone on these trips over the past thirteen years. Between 2013 and 2015, the Israeli government expects 51,000 people per year (one out of every two eligible Jews in the world) to visit through this program.

Sunday, March 25, 2012 | 4:00 PM

Independent Art Spaces Symposium and Art Spaces Directory Launch Saturday, March 31, 2012 | 12:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:19:34 -0600

This symposium, comprised of two panels, celebrates and contextualizes the launch of the Art Spaces Directory, published in conjunction with the 2012 New Museum Triennial: “The Ungovernables.” The Art Spaces Directory is an international guide to the sites where contemporary art and artists are nurtured, interrogated, and sustained. With detailed profiles of over 400 art spaces from ninety-six countries, this volume is a useful tool for artists, curators, students, and the general public. In addition, it includes a series of essays and discussions contributed by Víctor Albarracín, Reem Fadda and Christine Tohme, Stefan Kalmár, Naiza H. Khan, Catalina Lozano, Elaine W. Ng, and tranzit.org.

Panel 1
What can happen in these spaces that cannot happen elsewhere? What unique challenges do these spaces face? Is failure inevitable? Panelists include: Lia Gangitano, founder/director of PARTICIPANT INC, New York; Heejin Kim, director of Art Space Pool, Seoul, Korea. Moderated by Eungie Joo and Ethan Swan.

Panel 2
This panel considers current attempts at working without a physical space, through online platforms and nomadic initiatives. Participants include: Lauren Cornell, Executive Director, Rhizome, and Adjunct Curator, New Museum; Deana Lawson, co-founder/co-director, 68 Months Discussion Group. Moderated by Eungie Joo and Ethan Swan.

Saturday, March 31, 2012 | 12:00 PM

A Proposition by Dave McKenzie April 5 – 7, 2012

NewMuseum.org — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:55:49 -0500

The structure of Propositions is typically as follows:
Thursday, 7 p.m. – Initial proposition and lecture
Saturday, 3 p.m. – Guest speaker responds, followed by discussion with audience

The Proposition this month is by Dave McKenzie.

Dave McKenzie received a BFA in printmaking from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine. His most recent exhibitions include: “Dave McKenzie,” Aspen Art Museum (2010); “30 Seconds Off an Inch,” The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2009); “On Premises,” Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects (2009); “Black is, Black Ain’t,” The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago (2008), and “Museum as Hub: Six Degrees,” New Museum, New York (2008). He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

April 5 – 7, 2012

Public Movement: SALON 4 – Deconstructing Birthright Israel Thursday, April 5, 2012 | 7:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:13:03 -0600

Co-presented with Artis Contemporary Israeli Art Fund.

SALON 4 will host multiple roundtable discussions and workshops on the different aspects and dimensions of Birthright Israel including: psychological dimensions, ''sentimental experience'' mapping of Israel, the politics of Birthright, Zionism for American Jews, the erotic economy, and the idea of Birthright Palestine. The public is invited to participate, as delegates, in the democratic formulation of six declarations, to be delivered at the conclusion of the session and published in the print media the following day.

Thursday, April 5, 2012 | 7:00 PM

Public Movement: SALON 5 – Birthright Palestine? Debate/Vote Sunday, April 15, 2012 | 3:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:19:06 -0600

Co-presented with Artis Contemporary Israeli Art Fund.

SALON 5 will present a public debate staged as a congressional session amongst the public and previous salon participants on the initiation of Birthright Palestine. Invited debaters, along with the public, will argue all sides of the case and its possible implications.

The debate will be followed by a democratic vote. If the public votes against the creation of a Birthright Palestine, then Public Movement's Final Action in New York will be canceled.

Sunday, April 15, 2012 | 3:00 PM

Public Movement: Final Action for New York City Saturday, April 21, 2012 | 12:00 PM

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:33:38 -0600

In SALON 5 from “SALONS: Birthright Palestine?,” the public will vote on whether to initiate Birthright Palestine. If the vote is affirmative, then the final Public Movement action for New York City will take place on this date in a location TBA. However, if the vote is negative, the final Public Movement action in New York City will be canceled.

Image: Public Movement: Positions, Washington Square (2011), 2011. Photo: Jesse Untracht-Oakner

Saturday, April 21, 2012 | 12:00 PM

A Proposition by LaToya Ruby Frazier May 17 – 19, 2012

NewMuseum.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:59:41 -0600

Day 1 – Thursday May 17, 7 p.m.
Day 2 – Saturday May 19, 3 p.m.

The structure of Propositions is typically as follows:
Day 1 – Initial proposition and lecture
Day 2 – Guest speaker responds, followed by discussion with audience

The Proposition this month is by LaToya Ruby Frazier.

The collaboration between LaToya Ruby Frazier and her family blurs the line between self-portraiture and social documentary. Frazier uses photography to explore themes of the body and landscape, familial and communal history, private and public space, and the human condition. Frazier studied at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, where she developed an interest in social and personal documentary-style photography. Her fascination with the photography projects commissioned by the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression has informed her work, which explores issues of propaganda, politics, and the importance of subjectivity. She attended Syracuse University, where she studied with Carrie Mae Weems. As a result of conversations with Weems, Frazier began investigating issues of class, capitalism, and the postmodern condition in her work. Recently, Frazier has focused on creating photographs that address environmental injustices and explore issues of healthcare and class.

May 17 – 19, 2012