What happens when you revamp the idea of an "exquisite corpse" to make a group installation that unfolds to occupy an entire gallery? Instigation, chance, and spirited play will ensue in Over My Dead Body, an installation based, collaborative exhibition inspired by the Surrealist parlor game of the Exquisite Corpse, in which members of a group add to a piece without seeing that which came before. The emphasis is on collaboration, and the rules dictate that the artists work in groups, focus on one of several physical and creative necessities of surviving as an artist, and must connect their work to each other in some fashion.
The Rules (as decided by artists over the course of an evening of food and drink):
1) Each group will choose a theme based on the needs for artistic survival and work collaboratively on their piece before installation begins.
2) Installation of work will be simultaneous and work will not be concealed during installation. (The group felt that the unveiling would occur naturally as the installation proceeds.)
3) Each group is responsible for working with the groups next to them to make a cohesive connection between separate projects.
4) There are no limitations on materials or process.
Artists often sacrifice stability as they commit wholeheartedly to their art practices. One means of artistic survival is through collaboration, dialogue with and support from other artists. As Tom Holert discusses in his recent essay in ARTFORUM, collaborative work has “historically enabled alternative modes of subjectivity” . He quotes from feminist artist Mina Schor’s essay "On Creativity and Community”, stating that “the particular activation of the individual immersed in a collective with a shared goal entails ‘a peculiar relief in going outside the self”. It is the goal of the curators of Over My Dead Body to offer its participating artists this relief.
The title of the show references artists’ passionate belief in art making and their protectiveness over their pursuit. Unfortunately, this pursuit is threatened if the artist’s basic needs for survival are not met. Some of the needs, both physical and emotional, addressed by the artists in this show are language, respiration, flexibility of persona, confidence, security, relationships, job, sex, recognition, and excretion. In the installation, the needs are connected, and as in a body, the parts cannot be isolated without endangering the integrity of the whole.
This evolving exhibition will have two phases: Phase I: Creation, in which artists view others’ work for the first time and Phase II: Connection, which reveals the changes that take place as artists connect their work. In the spirit of the Surrealists, the exhibition will involve food, drink, performance, and participatory work. Artists will be available to discuss work and socialize with visitors during Artist Hours on Thursday and Friday afternoons as well as during the two receptions.
Through collaboration and the surprise inherent in the making and viewing of an exquisite corpse, Over My Dead Body will offer a contemporary take on the generative process of artists.
Participating Artists
Luca N Antonucci & Carissa Potter
Christi Baker & Colleen Mulvey
Johanna Barron, Christy Chan, Helen Lee, & Cybele Lyle
Peter Belkin, Evan Engstrom, & Joe Melamed
Amanda Curreri, Llewelynn Fletcher, Hannah Ireland, & George Pfau
Nancy de Y. Elkus & Matthew Marchand
Cathy Fairbanks, Bryan Hewitt, Vita Hewitt, & Emmanuelle Namont Kouznetsov
Pete Hickok, Jennie Lennick, & Rachel Mica Weiss
John-Mark Ikeda & Nicholas Price
Ryan Jones,* Scott MacLeod, & Jesse Walton
Seth Lower & David Wolf
Cathy Lu* & Rochelle Youk
*Root Division Studio Artist
Over My Dead Body Exhibition Images
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Over My Dead Body is free, open to the public, and includes a Creative Station - all ages art activities hosted in our classroom during the 2nd Saturday opening reception.
