Mother Earth, Sister Moon

Christian Tomaszewski and Joanna Malinowska

• chashama 679
• 679 Third Ave at 43rd Street
• Wednesday, November 4 - Saturday, November 21, times vary

Opening Nov. 4, 6-8 pm

For Performa 09, Polish artist Christian Tomaszewski, in collaboration with video and performance artist Joanna Malinowska, considers how the future was imagined by the Communist regimes of the former Soviet Bloc. “Mother Earth Sister Moon” explores this theme by examining the fashion and style elements related to a diverse range of Eastern Bloc phenomena, including the Soviet space program, sci-fi film and literature of the era, and the cults surrounding the mysterious 1908 explosion over the Tunguska River Valley in central Siberia. This research will manifest itself as a giant reconstruction of the suit worn by the first woman in space—Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova—that also pays tribute to the sculpture “Hon-en Katedral” (“She-a Cathedral”), an enormous female figure conceived and built by Niki de Saint Phalle with Jean Tinguely in 1966. Visitors to the sculpture will be able to walk inside it and—at designated “performance” times—view a fashion show, with music by Masami Tomihisa, featuring both reconstructions of actual garments and new designs that evoke the Soviet space program and science-fiction films. In this way, the live show will act as a curated design exhibition in motion.

Installation on view Tues.-Sat. 12-6pm, FREE

Performances
Nov. 6 at 6 and 8pm
Nov. 14 at 8pm
Nov. 21 at 8pm

Christian Tomaszewski was born in Gdansk, Poland and currently lives and works in New York. He has been predominantly working in multi-media installation exploring various aspects of cinema, architecture and experiments with reconstruction or deconstruction of a narrative. In his work, he has been also interested in adapting different roles and definitions of an artist, balancing between making things out of sincere or self-induced obsession and critical calculation. His work has been exhibited widely in the United States and Europe. He is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland and past participant in several prestigious residency programs including the American Academy in Rome, the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York City and recently Artpace in San Antonio. Tomaszewski is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including past support form the Pollock-Krasner Foundation 2008 fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and 2009 Travel Grant from the Jerome Foundation. He teaches at Princeton University.

Joanna Malinowska is a Polish-born and New York based artist working in video, sculpture, sound and performance. A graduate of Rutgers University’s BFA program and Yale University’s MFA program, she has exhibited her work in the United States and internationally. She participated in the 1st Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art in Moscow, Russia and the International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Prague, Czech Republic and shown her work at such venues as Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland; Zamek Ujazdowski Contemporary Art Center in Warsaw, Poland; Sculpture Center, Smack Mellon,Momenta Art and Art in General in New York, NY; Boston Center for the Arts; Midway Contemporary Art in Minneapolis, MN; Real Art Ways in Hartford, CT. Her solo and two person exhibitions took place at Canada and Venetia Kapernekas galleries in New York City.  She participated in residences at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and Smack Mellon Studio Program. She is a 2009 recipient of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in Visual Arts.

Produced in association with the Polish Cultural Institute and Open Art Projects. Supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding and Performa Producer’s Circle member Illya Szilak.

Performance Tickets: $12 / $10 Performa Members