Too in the Pink
March 1st, 2010What just happened? was the dominant thought as dumbstruck art kids shuffled out of a second-floor gallery at PS1. To hear the varied accounts is like watching Rashomon. Everyone saw the same events unfold, but every version is different.
As part of the new Saturday Sessions initiative at PS1, curators Sarvia Jasso and Andres Bedoya brought their Brooklyn is Burning faction to Queens. After performance artist Georgia Sagri completed her self-hijacking fugue, most viewers were shocked when the next performer, Ann Liv Young, took the stage and verbally trashed Georgia’s romp. Then it gets blurry (and messy).
Ann Liv Young urinated into a tray, Georgia left and then returned with middle fingers ablazing, both taunted each other, and then Ann Liv Young began masturbating on the floor, flopping and grinding her pelvis toward Georgia, her bare flesh flapping against Christian Marclay’s matrix of vinyl records.
Not sure what happened to Georgia after that, because most (wide) eyes were on Ann, who now appeared to be bleeding downstairs and staggering around with the tray of urine, only to spill a little and then dump it over herself like a Gatorade tank on Coach Paterno. And now the lights are out. ”Is this real?” some wondered aloud. ”Is it part of the show?” “Maybe it’s like a Martin Creed sort of thing.” No wonder the NY Times said of Ann Liv Young, “For the viewer it can be hard to tell if the show is unraveling or if Young’s behavior is the show itself.”
Who made the call to cut the power? Many people blame the PS1 staff for silencing a daring performance. That would be especially confusing if it came down from new Director Klaus Biesenbach. The champion of the edgy and provocative Marina Abramovic wouldn’t be easily shocked; Ann Liv Young has nothing he hasn’t seen before, right?
After all, who can forget “the Vault,” which was the subterranean sex dungeon component of Klaus’ 2006 survey at PS1, Into Me/Out of Me? How about the sensational Pipilotti Rist supervideo he brought to MoMA, Pour Your Body Out (7354 Cubic Meters)? Rist’s psyche-sanguine content was risky (risty?) business, too – and one of the absolute coolest undertakings we’ve ever seen at the new MoMA. He also brought us the mesmerizing Douglas Gordon: Timeline and at PS1, Fassbinder: Berlin Alexanderplatz. Hot!
But then PS1 has compromised unusual projects for specious reasons. One example comes from a few years ago, when PS1 support staff removed part of an installation by Jesse Bercowetz & Matt Bua: a dead chicken suspended from a window.
Artist and Brooklyn is Burning participant Julia Oldham might be the first to have blogged about the event. We chatted about it over email and I spoke for the steady stream of dejected viewers upset about a repressive gesture that looked reactionary and hypocritical. But don’t listen to me; I was just riled up after watching Keith Olbermann all day to help with my merciless winter depression.
Even if Klaus issued the cut-off directive, it might be unfair to wolf-cry censorship. Censorship entails a greater degree of deliberation for the purpose of personal or political gain. If an aggressive performer is bleeding, flinging urine, and staggering around, maybe a prudent adult should hit the Panic Button. Intervening into the escalating altercation might have prevented a catfight or worse. Or maybe PS1 thought Ann Liv Young’s performance spilled over into uncooth hysteria, and censorship doesn’t apply, since antics aren’t really content. Maybe Admiral Klaus ruled that Ann had jumped the shark when the mad clam bared its teeth.
More Ann Liv Young (link NSFW)
UPDATE 1: From BiB co-curator Sarvia Jasso:
As one of the curators of BiB, I would like to take this opportunity to express my opinion about the event at PS1. Despite the fact that BiB is a collaborative project, my fellow curator Andres Bedoya and I have respectfully diverging opinions that have not necessarily been fully reflected in any of the statements posted thusfar.
While I do not claim to know the reason the museum turned the lights off, I can say that the perceived animosity and escalating verbal and gestural attacks in the room from one artist to another were absolutely antithetical to my understanding of what BiB represents. The situation ultimately compromised the participation of the other artists involved, causing the last artist to perform in the dark. Despite the unforeseen and unfortunate outcome, I remain committed to a completely open format for expression. I think the framework (content and context) for any ensuing discussions should take into account the complexities of experiencing a live performance within an institution, instead of jumping to the conclusion that the impetus for removing power during the event originated in an attempt at censoring the performers.
A claim of censorship could easily develop into a self-serving mythology with its own inertia, which could then quickly become detached from the event itself. I think we need to be very clear that no one was asked to leave and all of the planned performances occurred during the course of the event.
From a curatorial point of view, a broad range of performances is vital to the program, but the underlying message always stays the same—BiB is forging a community that respects and celebrates diversity in all its complexities. Anybody who has ever attended a BiB event can attest to the fact that we try to create a positive environment in which to present work that can be challenging and, at times, difficult to digest.
UPDATE 2: From PS1:
The decision by the Director of PS1 to curtail the performances near the end of Saturday Sessions was made to safeguard the audience, performers, and PS1 staff from an escalating and potentially volatile situation. The performers’ actions were not previously discussed with or planned by PS1.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:11 am
Sarvia Jasso’s claim that ‘all of the planned performances occurred during the course of the event” is disingenuous, given that Morty Diamond’s performance was altered, changed, and curtailed by PS1′s cutting the power. It’s not like the performance was as Morty would have wanted it.
Second, PS1′s statement you print does not explain why PS1 didn’t make any kind of announcement to the audience at the time. And it does not explain why they restored the power briefly and then vut it again once Morty was naked. Does PS1 not respect its audiences and artists enough to even engage in dialogue? PS1′s claim that they acted to “safeguard” people is self-serving. There was no danger to the audience or anyone. That’s an inflated claim. BOO on PS1!
March 9th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I don’t understand, what is “Georgia Sagri . . . her self-hijacking fugue”? You go to so much trouble to put up all those irrelevant pictures but don’t bother to discribe the performance? Or am I missing something.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
plus, censoring the vagina in that picture is really too much
March 9th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Thank you, Walter. Yes, you are missing something. Other blogs have described Georgia’s performance, and I didn’t want to be redundant. Moreover, her performance wasn’t the point of the post.
Were the photos so irrelevant? Marina Abramovic doesn’t fit into a blog post about edgy performance?