Portland art blog + news + exhibition reviews + galleries + contemporary northwest art

recent entries

Early September Links
Labor Day Weekend Picks
Museumy Links
Wendy Given at Vernissage
Mid August Links
Grace Kook-Anderson in Conversation
Portland Art Adventures
Early August Art News
August must see picks
End of July News
Alia Ali's Borderland at Bluesky
Mid Summer Reads

recent comments

categories

 

Book Review
Calls for Artists
Design Review
Essays
Interviews
News
Openings & Events
Photoblogs
Reviews
Video
Links
About PORT

regular contributors

 

Tori Abernathy
Amy Bernstein
Katherine Bovee
Emily Cappa
Patrick Collier
Arcy Douglass
Megan Driscoll
Jesse Hayward
Sarah Henderson
Jeff Jahn
Kelly Kutchko
Drew Lenihan
Victor Maldonado
Christopher Moon
Jascha Owens
Alex Rauch
Gary Wiseman

archives

 

Guest Contributors
Past Contributors
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005

contact us

 

Contact us

search

 


syndicate

 

Atom
RSS

powered by

 

Movable Type 3.16

This site is licensed under a

 

Creative Commons License

Saturday 05.06.06

« p:ear blossoms vs. TADA | Main | The "School of Nan" Curtis era comes to an end at PNCA »

Extra Sansory Perception

San_Keller_Memosan.jpg San Keller, Memosan

Next Monday's PSU lecture will not only make your day, but will make your whole week, kicking off a 4-day long workshop/action with visiting artist San Keller. The work of this Swiss artist is smart and funny, with a thoroughly European sensibility. He works with the codes of the public space as well as of the exhibition space, very much in the vein of work by Jeppe Hein, a German artist whose work I saw for the first time on my last visit to Paris.

Much of Keller's installation work as well as the short projects he deems "actions" are enacted within social spaces, goading the viewer (or at times the random passer-by) into an unexpected situation. During his PS1 residency in 2003, Keller accompanied groups of participants to their respective homes, with the understanding that they would provide a light repast upon arrival. In Duett, which was part of an installation in Geneva, two swings were installed so that the piece could only become functional if two people were swinging in tandem. In Wer schläft zuerst? (Who Falls Asleep First?), an empty bed is alongside a video of the artist falling asleep, challenging the viewer to engage in a sleeping contest with the artist. In this theoretical contest, however, either the artist loses the challenge, or else the video art is sufficiently boring to send the viewer into deep slumber.

San_Keller_Who_Falls_Asleep_First.jpg San Keller, Wer schläft zuerst

Other work confronts the vocabulary of the white box. During an exhibition at Galerie Brigitte Weiss, Keller printed the status of his bank account once per day, selling the piece for the same amount given as his account balance. At the Sharjah Biennial in United Arab Emerites, Keller installed loudspeakers on the outside of the art museum so that daily recitations from the art historical canon could be broadcast like prayers from a mosque. In another work, entitled What Would I Do, If I Failed As an Artist, Keller has created a functional reproduction of a hairdresser's salon; the artist is currently looking for "a big art museum to donate his installation to, under the stipulation that he be allowed to work in the salon if the failed as an artist."

While here in Portland, Keller will initiate Make My Day, a project in which participants propose, realize and document a project in collaboration with Keller. More details are forthcoming about the workshop, but Keller is looking for participants to propose concepts. All interested parties should show up to Monday night's lecture. [JUST IN: Keller will be at Valentines from 2 - 8pm on Tuesday, May 9. During this time, the public is invited to submit proposals. Keller will choose 16 proposals for a continuous action that will take place over a 48 hour period between Tuesday, May 9 at 8 pm and Thursday, May 11 at 8 pm. Individuals will get a three hour period of time and activities can include just about anything, including the mundane (eating, sleeping, travelling, you get the idea)] Keller will present documentation of the resulting project at Valentines on Friday at 2 pm.

San_Keller_Waste_My_Time.gif


MAKE MY DAY

Participating in the workshop means you decide on what Swiss concept and action artist San Keller will be doing in Portland during the next 24 hours. On the first day each participant will be given three hours for drawing up and presenting a concept. San Keller will then select the best concepts. Afterwards the participants will create a coherent whole out of these single parts. On the second and third day the participants are responsible for realising and documenting their concepts together with San Keller within the given time-frame. Days three and four will be used for collecting and putting together the documentary material.

May 8 — Lecture at PSU
May 9 — Conception, Presentation, Selection
May 10 & 11 — Action
May 12 — Documentation


Lecture • Monday, May 8th • 7 p
PSU 5th Avenue Cinema • 510 SW Hall St. Room 92 (on the corner of 5th & Hall)
Sponsored in part by PICA, PNCA, and Reed College

Proposal/Selection • Tuesday, May 9th • 2 - 8 p
Valentines • 232 SW Ankeny • 503.248.1600

Public talk/presentation • Friday, May 12th • 2 p
Valentines • 232 SW Ankeny • 503.248.1600


Posted by Katherine Bovee on May 06, 2006 at 10:45 | Comments (0)


Comments

Post a comment

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)


Remember me?


s p o n s o r s
Site Design: Jennifer Armbrust   •   Site Development: Philippe Blanc & Katherine Bovee