Super 8 is a collection of video art in multi-channel formats, selected by a peer-to-peer curatorial process. Eight artists from eight cities across the globe were invited to present their videos, and invited four other artists from their respective cities to join them.
An iconoclastic artist, Nathalie Talec moves between live performance, installation, sculpture, and painting. The One Who Sees Blindly, her first solo exhibition in the United States, brings together many of her recurring themes.
Mark Bradford transforms found material – much of it paper from sources such as billboards and newspapers – into large-scale collages and installations. Included in YBCA’s presentation is the large-scale work Detail, an ark-like sculpture reconstructed from components of Mithra, a piece created in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Also on view at YBCA will be Bradford’s socially charged 2011 work, Rat Catcher of Hamelin, which is composed of components of 50 billboards collected from all around South-Central Los Angeles. This comprehensive survey of Bradford’s career to date is co-presented by YBCA and SFMOMA and will be on view at both venues. Please note that there are separate admission policies for each institution.
At the point where long-held beliefs fall into decline and once-esteemed notions crumble, questions arise about those belief systems. It is at this point that John-Mark Ikeda begins his exploration of the current economic climate. Ikeda deconstructs the iconic business suit — which he equates with the failed economy — stripping it down to its component parts and pinning it to the wall like a specimen, with accompanying business accessories, in an attempt to reconstitute it as a symbol of power.
The rock band on the stage, the athlete on the soccer field, the politician at the podium — all command the attention of huge crowds, not to mention cameras. Audience as Subject, Part 2: Extra Large turns the lens back on the audience, exposing the dramatic and narrative potential of the crowd itself.
Women's Voices features works written specifically for Kronos Quartet including the world premiere of a new piece written and performed by composer and musician Vân–Ánh Vanessa Võ, co-commissioned by YBCA and the Kronos Performing Arts Association; the world premiere of Mosaic, by the late Delia Derbyshire; as well as three Bay Area premieres: Laurie Anderson’s Flow, Nicole Lizée’s Death to Kosmische, and Derek Charke’s Tundra Songs featuring Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq. Additional pieces will be announced later.