En-Garde II: omg

January 8-February 5, 2011

South Gallery Installation (Laura Poitras,
Chris Burden)

North Gallery Installation (Boryana
Rossa, Joe Sola)

Click here for a PDF version of the following Press Release.

For immediate release: January 7, 2011

                       
                                                          
EN-GARDE II: omg                              

Artists:  Jennifer Arnold | Chris Burden | Milena Dopitová | Diamanda Galás | Rico Gatson | George Gittoes | Kelly Heaton | Oleg Mavromati | Laura Poitras | Rosa von Praunheim | Jay Rosenblatt | Boryana Rossa | Joe Sola | Sam Van Aken | David Wojnarowicz

January 8 - February 5, 2011

The Ronald Feldman Gallery will present En-Garde II: omg, an exhibition of film, video, and works on paper by artists who question and challenge the status quo.  This expanded version with fifteen artists follows En-Garde, the exhibition with five artists presented at SEVEN Miami during art fair week in December.  Both exhibitions unfold against the background of reemerging culture wars and the rising power of the far right.

A Fire in My Belly (1986-87/2010) by David Wojnarowicz, the video recently censored by the Smithsonian is shown with two related excerpts from the 1990 film, Silence = Death by Rosa von Praunheim. One excerpt is of the censored video with added vocals and music by Diamanda Galás, and the other documents Wojnarowicz reading his poetry.  The inclusion of the video, Do Not Believe Your Eyes (2000) by the Russian artist Oleg Mavromati, who faces possible imprisonment for his reenactment of a crucifixion, and Chris Burden’s Transfixed (1974) and Through the Night Softly (1973) provides contemporary and historical parallels which express the agony of the body and the right to use powerful imagery as a form of protest.  Providing a global perspective, The Miscreants of Taliwood (2009) by the Australian film-maker George Gittoes depicts the clash between popular entertainment and Taliban violence.

Several artists investigate the current cultural landscape using conceptual artistic strategies.  oh my god (2006) by Sam Van Aken, a wall constructed from one hundred and ten box stereo speakers emitting sound clips of the words “Oh my God” (omg), includes the voices of Homer Simpson and 9/11 witnesses, among others.  In O’ Say Can You See (2011), the film-maker Laura Poitras combines images of grief-stricken citizens viewing Ground Zero shortly after 9/11 with audio recorded weeks later at the Yankees’ come-from-behind Game 4 World Series victory.  Rico Gatson’s fast-paced video images in Beef (2003) is a collaboration with Mos Def whose rap song is a call to action.  In her video, The Fashionista (2003), Kelly Heaton models a coat fashioned from the pelts and electronics of sixty-four previously owned Tickle Me Elmo dolls, connecting America’s history of fur trading to contemporary perils.  Two short films by Jay Rosenblatt, Afraid So (2006) and Restricted (1999), portray America’s perpetual state of fear.  Joe Sola’s Studio Visit (2005) documents his performance of jumping out of a window, à la Yves Klein, in front of unsuspecting guests. 

The Bulgarian artist Boryana Rossa spoofs historical female stereotypes in her video Celebrating the Next Twinkling (1999). Green Plateaus 1 (2003) by the Czech artist Milena Dopitová evokes the vanishing past of Mittel Europe and the aftermath of ruins.  The HBO documentary, A Small Act (2010) by the writer, producer and director Jennifer Arnold, focuses on an intense competition among Kenyan students for scholarships funded by a program initiated by an adult Kenyan as a tribute to his Swedish benefactor whose support led to his success.

Visitors will be encouraged to move their chairs and use head phones and the remote controls to view the films, which are shown simultaneously and vary in duration from a few minutes to feature length.

Ronald Feldman Fine Arts has mounted many group shows with similar themes:  War Games (1982), Atomic Salon (1982), 1984 - A Preview (1983), Socialites & Satellites (1984), Ciphers of Identity (1994), Ameri©an Dre@m: A Survey (2003), Face Off  (2004), and Artists Against the State: Perestroika Revisited (2006).
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There will be an opening reception January 8: 6 - 8.  Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 10 - 6, Monday by appointment.  For more information, contact Sarah Paulson (212) 226-3232 or sarah@feldmangallery.com.