Fino al 20 Aprile
2014 è in allestimento un’opera del collettivo Claire Fontaine presso il Museo
Ebraico di New York.
Pressrealize:
Claire Fontaine’s
art work addresses the ethical crises affecting society. It explores ideas and
representations of power, freedom, and identity, often undermining or
destabilizing these concepts. She uses found materials, borrowed text, images
appropriated from other artists, and commercial or industrial media to probe
such issues and subvert their original contexts, offering a way to imagine
change. Yet despite deep intellectual roots, she is at heart a romantic, even a
bit sentimental.
Fontaine’s
practice is rooted in political activism, especially the collaborative protest
movements of the late 1960s. Contemporary political theory provides the
armature for her investigations; she especially values postcolonial
perspectives, feminism, and neo-Marxism, with their focus on the politically
and socially marginalized.
The installation Tears comprises
nine neon signs suspended from the lobby ceiling at The Jewish Museum. In each,
the phrase “isle of tears” is written in a different language: French, Polish,
Russian, Yiddish, Greek, Italian, German, Spanish, and English. These were the
languages most commonly spoken at the Ellis Island immigration station by the
people who came to America through its doors—nearly sixteen million between
1892 and 1914.
The neon lights,
in lambent blue and green hues, create a wavelike color field above the
spectator. Located in the lobby—the liminal space between the outside world and
the realm of art—they mark a point of transition for the visitor. With their
multilingual voices they serve as surrogates for the millions of poor
immigrants who landed at Ellis Island filled with hope and trepidation.
Claire Fontaine
lives and works in Paris. A Readymade collective artist, she was founded in
2004. Her work has been shown at Tate London; the Museo Tamayo, Mexico City;
the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; and CCA Wattis Institute for
Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, among other venues. - See more at:
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/exhibitions/using-walls#sthash.KwllkOnv.dpuf
