Feb 5, 2010 By: yunews
Participants鈥 Commitment to a Better World is an Integral Part of a Performance Art Installation at YU Museum
Mierle Laderman Ukeles鈥 art installation, Tsimtsum/Shevitrat Ha-Kelim:Contraction/The Shattering of the Perfect Vessels - Birthing Tikkun Olam, is a blend of site-specific art in its most contemporary form and traditional religious elements reminiscent of the Western Wall. The installation is part of 鈥淚n the Beginning: Artists Respond to Genesis,鈥 an exhibit that will be held at the through Feb. 28.
In the piece, two-sided mirrors are interspersed with pieces of paper on which participants have written a 鈥渃ovenant鈥 to make the world a better place. 鈥淭he idea of the individual mirrors is that I ask people to look in the mirror and see the sacredness of you,鈥 Ukeles explained.
When the installation opened, it was comprised only of mirrors. But on a recent Sunday afternoon, Ukeles invited participants to a 鈥淒ay of Transfer and Exchange鈥 in which each participant traded a covenant for a mirror, ultimately leading to the replacement of about one-third of the mirrors. Through this exchange, 鈥渢he site of the art is going to move out into the world, and with it, the acts that you will do,鈥 Ukeles said. Covenants range from the succinct 鈥淚 covenant to listen better鈥 to pages several paragraphs long illustrated with tiny drawings.
Ukeles is best known for 鈥渕aintenance鈥 artwork. Her Manifesto for Maintenance Art 1969 may have coined the term. The manifesto proposed merging boundaries between art and routine activities of everyday life such as house cleaning, cooking and snow removal; most of Ukeles鈥 pieces are performance studies involving such mundane activities. One of her best-known projects, Touch Sanitation, involved shaking hands with more than 8,500 workers in the New York City Department of Sanitation while saying 鈥渢hank you.鈥
The artist鈥檚 work was chosen for the exhibit because 鈥渋n addition to its aesthetic beauty and physical presence, the installation echoes and engages with key themes of the creation story,鈥 said Jacob Wisse, the museum鈥檚 director. 鈥淭he participatory nature of Mierle鈥檚 piece, and of the performance in particular, bring that home to the visitor. That forms an important part of our presentation and reflects core ideals of the Museum.鈥
Courtney Malick, a graduate student at Bard College who is writing her thesis on Ukeles, said that she 鈥渨rote a commitment to become a curator and bring new artists to the forefront.鈥 Malick said that prior to seeing the installation, she was unable to envision how this work鈥攚ith its religious/spiritual themes鈥攃onnected with Ukeles鈥 more familiar maintenance art. 鈥淎t first they seemed really separate, but I realized that this piece really informs her other work,鈥 Malick said. 鈥淚 love that she describes maintenance and sustainability.鈥
Mierle Laderman Ukeles鈥 art installation, Tsimtsum/Shevitrat Ha-Kelim:Contraction/The Shattering of the Perfect Vessels - Birthing Tikkun Olam, is a blend of site-specific art in its most contemporary form and traditional religious elements reminiscent of the Western Wall. The installation is part of 鈥淚n the Beginning: Artists Respond to Genesis,鈥 an exhibit that will be held at the through Feb. 28.
In the piece, two-sided mirrors are interspersed with pieces of paper on which participants have written a 鈥渃ovenant鈥 to make the world a better place. 鈥淭he idea of the individual mirrors is that I ask people to look in the mirror and see the sacredness of you,鈥 Ukeles explained.
When the installation opened, it was comprised only of mirrors. But on a recent Sunday afternoon, Ukeles invited participants to a 鈥淒ay of Transfer and Exchange鈥 in which each participant traded a covenant for a mirror, ultimately leading to the replacement of about one-third of the mirrors. Through this exchange, 鈥渢he site of the art is going to move out into the world, and with it, the acts that you will do,鈥 Ukeles said. Covenants range from the succinct 鈥淚 covenant to listen better鈥 to pages several paragraphs long illustrated with tiny drawings.
Ukeles is best known for 鈥渕aintenance鈥 artwork. Her Manifesto for Maintenance Art 1969 may have coined the term. The manifesto proposed merging boundaries between art and routine activities of everyday life such as house cleaning, cooking and snow removal; most of Ukeles鈥 pieces are performance studies involving such mundane activities. One of her best-known projects, Touch Sanitation, involved shaking hands with more than 8,500 workers in the New York City Department of Sanitation while saying 鈥渢hank you.鈥
The artist鈥檚 work was chosen for the exhibit because 鈥渋n addition to its aesthetic beauty and physical presence, the installation echoes and engages with key themes of the creation story,鈥 said Jacob Wisse, the museum鈥檚 director. 鈥淭he participatory nature of Mierle鈥檚 piece, and of the performance in particular, bring that home to the visitor. That forms an important part of our presentation and reflects core ideals of the Museum.鈥
Courtney Malick, a graduate student at Bard College who is writing her thesis on Ukeles, said that she 鈥渨rote a commitment to become a curator and bring new artists to the forefront.鈥 Malick said that prior to seeing the installation, she was unable to envision how this work鈥攚ith its religious/spiritual themes鈥攃onnected with Ukeles鈥 more familiar maintenance art. 鈥淎t first they seemed really separate, but I realized that this piece really informs her other work,鈥 Malick said. 鈥淚 love that she describes maintenance and sustainability.鈥
