Recording of Pavel Pys in conversation with SECONDEDITIONS now available on Soundcloud

Second Reflection / Symmetrical Contents: Sturtevant and Secondeditions

Pavel Pyś In Conversation With Elizabeth Peebles And Markus Eisenmann.

This event took place on 23rd January 2013. A recording of this event is available here

This event consisted of a performance piece with Pavel Pyś and SECONDEDITIONS (above), a talk by Pavel Pyś about Sturtevant’s practice from the 1960s onwards, SECONDEDITIONS on their practice and collaboration with Sturtevant and a Q&A session.

STURTEVANT is one of the most influential artists of her generation. She received the Kurt Schwitters Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 2012 and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011.

Pavel Pyś, Exhibitions & Displays Curator at the Henry Moore Institute who recently organised the showing of Sturtevant’s ‘Duchamp Bicycle Wheel’ 1969-73 at the Henry Moore Institute, discussed the underlying concepts of Sturtevant’s work with Elizabeth Peebles and Markus Eisenmann of SECONDEDITIONS in relation to the exhibition second reflection / symmetrical contents at CHELSEA space from 23rd January to 9th March 2013 www.chelseaspace.org

This event was a CCW Graduate School Public Research Platform in collaboration with CHELSEA Space. The event was recorded on Wednesday 23rd January 2013 at Chelsea College of Art & Design. A recording of the event can be accessed here

second reflection / symmetrical contents STURTEVANT and SECONDEDITIONS: Pavel Pys in conversation with Elizabeth Peebles and Markus Eisenmann

STURTEVANT is one of the most influential artists of her generation. She received the Kurt Schwitters Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 2012 and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011.

Pavel Pys, Exhibitions & Displays Curator at the Henry Moore Institute who recently organised the showing of Sturtevant’s ‘Duchamp Bicycle Wheel’ 1969 – 1973 at the Henry Moore Institute, will discuss the underlying concepts of Sturtevant’s work with Elizabeth Peebles and Markus Eisenmann of SECONDEDITIONS in relation to the exhibition second reflection / symmetrical contents at CHELSEA space from 23rd January to 9th March 2013.

This event will take place on Wednesday 23rd January 2013, 6:00 – 7:30pm

Lecture Theatre, Chelsea College of Art and Design, 16 John Islip Street, London SW1P 4JU

Admission free, open to all

RSVP to gsevents@arts.ac.uk

Next up: Mark Leckey on 28 June

In just a couple of weeks’ time we’ll be welcoming artist and pop culture magpie,

Mark Leckey for a refreshingly honest and witty take on the mystique of digital

technology. Leckey, who is known for being the sort of artist who both attracts

and defies labels comes fresh on the heels of two major recent shows at the

Serpentine and Manchester Art Gallery, so we recommend you book now as this

is going to be a busy event!

Mark Leckey: Touchy Feely

Thu 28 June, 6.00-7.30pm, FREE

 

Turner Prize winner, video pioneer – Mark Leckey is an artist’s artist. His pop references

and use of technology mark him out with a massive influence on the current generation.

Mark Leckey won the Turner Prize in 2008, his wide-ranging and multi-disciplinary practice

combines sculpture, film, sound and performance. His work has been widely exhibited,

with a major solo exhibition, See We Assemble, held at the Serpentine Gallery last year

and a recent solo show at Manchester Art Gallery, back in March 2012.

For this talk, Leckey will explore the sensual pleasure of making things that aren’t actually

physically there.

To book your place for this talk or for more information email:

info@chelseaspace.org

The talks series is free and open to the public and will take place in the main

Lecture Theatre at Chelsea College of Art & Design, 16 John Islip St, SW1P 4JU

 

Pil & Galia Kollectiv on post-Fordist labour, the myth of meritocracy and the riots

Above: Image of Pil & Galia presenting new video work ‘We are Equilibrium’

In the first of our latest CHELSEA public programme events, last week we saw Pil & Galia Kollectiv introduce their talk, Against Human Nature with a very special screening of their new video work We Are Equilibrium, which presents a dialogue between two computers.

The conversation opens with a simple textbook problem in business studies, but gradually the language, mimicking the application of game theory in the business sector, becomes more abstract. The two interlocutors become adversaries trapped forever in a competition without winners, in which Pil & Galia have orchestrated a poignant video piece that draws on military machinery and stock archive footage of 1950s computers as a critique on games theory and cybernetics.

Above: Still of Pil & Galia discussing their band ‘WE.’

Set against the context of the London riots (of 2011), their discussion began with a selection of collected quotes from friends and elsewhere on personal views of the rioters and the possible theories behind their motivation. This was pitted against a sense of a mismatch in their own views and even their own work with that of the current political landscape that they seek to re-address, specifically with this most recent video. Leading onto the consideration of the character of the human and of human nature set in opposition with arts alignment with the genius. That the language to talk about politics is somehow missing, as well as the freedom from individual and institution. They also discussed how their work relates to post-fordist labour in the sense that they are constantly exploiting themselves, like a telesales person who is always ‘performing themselves.’ Questioning what the ideology of our times is, bringing in thoughts on the myth of meritocracy and social constructivism and that fewer people are committing to an ideology and instead the figure of the human as positioned outside of economic, social and biological landscape.

Above: Still of ‘WE’ performing

On their band WE, they shared numerous quotes from theory and philosophy sources that relate candidly to the name of the band, one example from Zizek starts “We is the ghost of our future…” Yet, how all this relates to the making of artworks is really nice to hear, they mention they don’t apply the theory to the work that it’s a much more organic process involved, which makes it paradoxical.

Above: Still from ‘Asparagus: A Horticultural Ballet.’

And so ending on their Showroom commission, Asparagus: A Horticultural Ballet, which was inspired by obscure minimal synth band xex and Oskar Schlemmer’s Triadic Ballet with some great questions from the floor…