THE OPENING RECEPTION AND TOUR WILL NOW BE BROADCAST LIVE ON FACEBOOK HERE
CURRENTS 826 Gallery will feature the exhibition Performative Ecologies including eleven women artists who explore the role of ritual while engaging the natural world. Included are artifacts and documentations from performative works dating from 1971-2019, engagements of ecological consciousness in both urban and rural spaces.
The exhibition will be held at 826 Canyon Road with a virtual reception + tour on Sunday May 10, 2020 from 5-6pm. Closing date TBD, probably in August/September 2020.
Artists include: Fern Shaffer, Cherie Sampson, Shana Robbins, Mary Mattingly, Jenny Kendler, Minoosh Zomorodinia, Basia Irland, Alicia Escott, Claudia Bucher, Dominique Mazeaud and Bonnie Ora Sherk.
In 1987, Suzi Gablik published her radical book, The Reenchantment of Art. This was the author's manifesto in which she proposed a more engaged, empathetic, participatory, and socially responsible approach to art. She also called for a revival of the mystical, which Gablik felt was often dismissed because of our rational modes of perceiving the world. Two artists she wrote about in her book, Dominique Mazeaud and Fern Shaffer are included in Performative Ecologies.
Performative art, unlike performance art, does not require an audience. The artists in Performative Ecologies take on the role of shaman or magical messenger to perform acts of cleansing or engaging the spirit world. These other worlds that the artists have envisioned offer a depth and meaning that has either been long forgotten or is being acknowledged in a new way. The remains of these performative works include photographs, video documentation, artifacts and “magic clothing” that the artists wore.
Curated by Patricia Watts, founder/curator of ecoartspace
