THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART’S PERFORMANCE EXHIBITION SERIES CONTINUES WITH U.S. PREMIERE OF MARK LECKEY IN THE LONG TAIL
Performance 5: Mark Leckey October 1, 2, and 3, 2009, 8:00 p.m. The Abrons Arts Center at the Henry Street Settlement, 466 Grand Street, New York, NY
NEW YORK, September 2, 2009—The Museum of Modern Art presents the North American premiere of Mark Leckey in the Long Tail (2009), a performance-based work presented in a theater for performing arts at the Abrons Arts Center on October 1, 2, and 3, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. Throughout the performance—which is part lecture, part monologue, and part living sculpture— Leckey (British, b. 1964) engages the topics of television and broadcasting history, from the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) to the icon of Felix the Cat, while simultaneously addressing the “Long Tail” theory of internet-based economics. Performance 5: Mark Leckey is organized by Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator, with Jenny Schlenzka, Assistant Curator for Performance, Department of Media and Performance Art, The Museum of Modern Art. The work made its debut earlier this year at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Mark Leckey in the Long Tail is a multimedia lecture delivered by the artist in an installation resembling the soundstage of a movie. Incorporating a series of props—a blackboard, a desk, a lectern—the performance involves a live reconstruction of the first television broadcast, with Leckey moving between props and locations throughout. At the start of the lecture Leckey begins at the podium, demonstrating how a doll of Felix the Cat became the first image of the twentieth century transmitted into public consciousness and how, for Leckey, the figure becomes the embodiment of the Long Tail phenomenon of the twenty-first century. Leckey follows its trajectory through successive phases of twentieth-century broadcasting, and into the twenty-first with its arrival in the Long Tail, going on to address how the Internet is changing the nature of demand, exchange, and, by extension, profit and creativity. Throughout the performance Leckey animates his conversational meanderings with props and special effects in an attempt to conjure up the emerging nature of the Long Tail. Winner of the 2008 Turner Prize, Leckey is currently Professor of Film Studies, Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Leckey’s work has been exhibited at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York; Tate Britain, London; and the Istanbul Biennial, Turkey. His work is included in collections at Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Two of Leckey’s works are in MoMA’s collection: Made in ‘Eaven (2004) and Cinema in the Round (2006-08), which was recently acquired by the Museum. Tickets to the performance are available for purchase via the Abrons Arts Center website at www.abronsartscenter.org or by phone at (212) 352-3101. General Admission tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Student and senior tickets are $5 in advance and at the door. The Abrons Arts Center box office opens 30 minutes before curtain.
SPONSORSHIP: The Performance Exhibition Series is made possible by MoMA’s Wallis Annenberg Fund for Innovation in Contemporary Art through the Annenberg Foundation.
Additional generous support for this exhibition is provided by Shane Akeroyd, Charles Asprey, and Hilary and Peter Hatch.
ABOUT MoMA’S PERFORMANCE EXHIBITION SERIES: MoMA’s Performance Exhibition Series is a two-year series of exhibitions that bring installations documenting past performances, live re-enactments of historic performances, and original performance pieces to various locations in the Museum and off site. The series began with the gallery exhibition Performance 1: Tehching Hsieh in January 2009, continued in March 2009 with Performance 2: Simone Forti and Performance 3: Trio A by Yvonne Rainer, and in June 2009 with Performance 4: Roman Ondák, which is on view at the Museum until September 14, 2009.
ABOUT THE ABRONS ARTS CENTER: The Abrons Arts Center is a part of the Henry Street Settlement, which has brought cultural and artistic excellence to Manhattan’s Lower East Side since 1893. Abrons opened in 1975 to house Henry Street’s visual and performing arts programming alongside its arts training. The performing arts program inherits the century-long legacy of the Neighborhood Playhouse, where some of the most adventurous artists have trained, taught, or performed, including Laurie Anderson, John Cage, Aaron Copland, Dizzy Gillespie, Martha Graham, Alicia Keyes, Alwin Nikolais, Lou Reed, Denzel Washington, and Orson Welles. The Artist Workspace Program has been established to provide performing artists with free rehearsal space to develop challenging new projects and mount public showings of these works-in-progress.
Directions: The Abrons Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street (between Clinton and Pitt streets) on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Subways: F to Delancey or East Broadway; D, B, or Q to Grand Street; J, M to Essex.
No. 71 Press Contact: Paul Jackson, 212/708-9593 or [email protected] Please contact Paul Jackson to inquire about press tickets.
Public Information: The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019 Hours: Wednesday through Monday: 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday: 10:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Closed Tuesday Museum Admission: $20 adults; $16 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $12 full-time students with current I.D. Free for children 16 and under. Free for members. Admission includes admittance to Museum galleries and film programs. Free admission during Target Free Friday Nights 4:00-8:00 p.m. The public may call 212/708-9400 for detailed Museum information. Visit us on the Web at www.moma.org.
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