New York, New YorkCandice Breitz
| Nov ’09 |
| 12 |
| 8:30 pm |
with Kunsthaus Bregenz
Video and installation artist Candice Breitz presents “New York, New York,” her first-ever live performance, which features two nearly-identical casts composed of four pairs of identical twins—with each pair of twins split into two groups of four actors each—presenting two evenings of improvised performance. The performances will be based on intensive “character development sessions” that Breitz will hold with each set of twins to develop a single character that both will play, although in separate casts and improvisations. Moving the probing of sameness and difference that has been central to Breitz’s video-based work (most recently in “Factum,” a series of double-portraits of twins) into the space of live performance, “New York, New York” brings her interest in what she has called ‘the scripted life’ together with an ongoing reflection on the fragile condition of individuality.
South African artist Candice Breitz (b. Johannesburg, 1972, lives and works in Berlin) has gained international renown for her video installations scrutinizing Hollywood and pop music stars such as Madonna, Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, and Jack Nicholson. At times composed of intricate re-edits of existing footage, at times shot from scratch, her multi-channel video installations reflect on the competing roles that external factors such as family and the media play in the formation of selfhood, exploring the complex relationship between lives lived on and off-screen, and dissecting the web of identifications that make fans and their idols co-dependent. Brilliantly commenting on the omnipresence of the media and the power of celebrity in contemporary culture, her work has been presented in numerous group and solo shows at the New Museum (New York), Castello di Rivoli (Turin), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), White Cube (London) and the Moderna Museet (Stockholm), among others. Breitz was awarded the 2007 Prix International d’Art Contemporain by the Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco. Parallel to her new piece for Performa 09, a survey exhibition of her work runs at The Power Plant in Toronto. An exhibition focusing on some of her recent installations will open at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in October 2009.
Produced by Performa and Kunsthaus Bregenz in association with The Power Plant, Toronto and Scott Macaulay. Supported by the TOBY Fund, Goodman Gallery and Performa Producer’s Circle members David Raymond.
Nov. 12, 8:30pm
Nov. 13, 8:30pm
Tickets: $20 / $16 Performa Members
