Not For Sale: Ideal Performance Space
| Nov ’09 |
| 22 |
| 11:00 am |
What is the ideal performance space for 21st century New York? This session will be dedicated to the discussion and speculation of what defines a performance space. It will examine past examples of performance spaces–whether deliberately designed or spontaneously invaded–and where they have succeeded and or failed. We will look at historical examples of arenas, from the Greek and Roman stages to experimental spaces such as Frederick Kiesler’s flexible theater to contemporary constructs such as Zaha Hadid’s Mobile Art container. The class may also discuss philosophical notions of space conveyed by different artistic movements such as Russian Constructivism or Modernism and how these ideas affected and continue to affect performance spaces and visual arts in general, performance in particular. By utilizing the Public School platform, and as an exciting installment in the Performa’s NOT FOR SALE series, NOT FOR SALE: IDEAL PERFORMANCE SPACE brings together professionals in architecture to understand the complex issues involved in the development and presentations of visual art performance.
Didier Faustino is an artist and architect active in Paris and Lisbon. He is co-founder of the Paris-based architecture firm Bureau des Mésarchitecture. Between 1996 and 2001, he was co-founder of the LAPS Laboratory in Paris, an arts review, art studio and a multidisciplinary collective. Faustino, known for his insubordinate points of view, rises up against the blandness of today’s cities. He calls for a boundary-breaking architecture, which would materialize on the fringes of the city or on vacant lots: an architecture he calls “misleading” for it gives freedom back to the individual.
Florian Idenburg gained his experience and recognition through his work at Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA, where he worked from 2000 till 2007. He founded Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu (SO – IL) with Jing Liu, a proactive agency that develops ideas in the realm of art, architecture and the city. Their ambition is to play a participatory and catalytic role in processes and projects that enhance the exchange and realization of ambitiously progressive ideas. From 2006 till 2007 Mr. Idenburg has held the position of Visiting Lecturer at the School of Architecture at Princeton University. Currently, he is a Design Critic at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture at Columbia University’s GSAPP.
Dana Karwas is a designer for art, cinema, and architecture. Her work is rooted in architecture and extends to the edges of social systems and cultural dimensions. She has taught classes on new media and the connections between architecture and the digital world at Harvestworks digital media center, NYC and at Columbia University’s GSAPP. Dana teaches the Metaforms class and a thesis seminar at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Dana is currently working with the artist Maya Lin on What Is Missing?, a multi-media memorial for the endangered species of the world.
Carlos J. Gómez de Llarena is a media architect engaged in the design of mediated experiences that challenge our perception of space and shape social interaction. He works with a diverse palette of tools including installations, video, sound, wireless networks, the web and programming. His work has been shown at Ars Electronica, Eyebeam, Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas, ZKM, ResFest and the Seoul Net Festival, among others. He currently lives in New York, where he works as a freelance interaction designer and developer of media architecture hybrids. He also performs as a VJ mixing visuals for raves and clubs in New York and Caracas.
Eric Liftin is principal of MESH Architectures (which designs physical spaces) and 10x (which designs and builds web sites). He has been dividing his design time between the physical and virtual realms for as long as web design has existed with the conviction that these realms are continuous. MESH has designed homes, offices, retail spaces, art installations, and “interactive” kiosks and has recently completed a design for Dumbospace, a 350-seat concert space in Brooklyn. 10x builds web sites, most recently a crowd-sourced cookbook site, food52.com.
Shohei Shigematsu joined the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in 1998. He became Associate of OMA Rotterdam in 2004 and in 2006 became Director of OMA*AMO New York. Shohei Shigematsu designed the traveling exhibition ‘Waist Down’, featuring skirts designed by Miuccia Prada. The exhibition was launched in Tokyo, and has since appeared in Shanghai, New York and Los Angeles.
Christian Wassmann opened his own office in New York in 2005. In addition to the design of several permanent spaces, Christian is also involved in the creation of temporary installations and happenings such as the first Internet Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2009. From 2000 to 2005 he worked for Steven Holl Architects where he was in charge of exhibitions. From 1997 to 2007 he collaborated closely with Robert Wilson, with whom he designed the traveling exhibition “Isamu Noguchi– Sculptural Design” for the Vitra Design Museum, the MTA subway terminal in Coney Island and many other permanent and temporary art and stage installations.
Organized by Performa Curator Defne Ayas. Coordination support by Griffin Frazen.
Defne Ayas is a curator at Performa. Since 2004, Ayas worked extensively as a consortium liaison for Performa05, and Performa07, and since then, continues to present performances and performance-related programs with an international roster of artists, curators, and critical thinkers. Prior to joining Performa, Ayas worked at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, where she coordinated the museum’s public and new media programming, including inter-disciplinary roundtables with leaders in the fields of visual arts and architecture for the Museum as a Hub initiative. Split between New York and Shanghai, where she is a Director of Arthub Asia, Ayas also serves as a curatorial advisor to Artissima, Turin; 8th Gwangju Biennial; Artist Pension Trust, and CCA in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ayas completed De Appel Curatorial Training Program in Amsterdam and received her Masters Degree from the ITP at New York University.
Presented as part of Performa’s Not For Sale Series and the Public School (For Architecture)
ABOUT LIVE ARCHITECTURE
This year Performa has a special focus on New York City itself – with commissioned projects that explore architecture, design, urban planning, typography, media, and public spaces – turning the city into an evolving platform for public engagement and inspiration. More than twenty architecture related events have been organized, including the Performa Commission of nOffice in Berlin, for the interior design of the Performa Hub (located on the ground floor gallery of the new Cooper Union building at 41 Cooper Square), the fully functioning headquarters for the Performa
09 biennial, as well as collaborative programs with Public School (for Architecture), common room, Van Alen Institute, Storefront for Art and Architecture, An Architecture, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal and Amsterdam-based Khatt Foundation.
FREE
