The Institute of Contemporary Art Presents Musical Performance by John Armleder and Christian Marclay in Conjunction with John Armleder, About Nothing. Works On Paper 1962-2007

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is very pleased to present a rare and experimental performance by performance artist, sculptor, and painter John Armleder in collaboration with Christian Marclay, a visual artist working in a range of media whose work explores the juxtaposition between sound, photography, video and film. Both known for blending different artistic disciplines and their obsessions with Christmas music, Armleder and Marclay will take their cue from the holiday season. Both artists have traditions of presenting performances in the spirit of Christmas, such as Marclay’s annual performance the Sounds of Christmas and Armleder’s own art record label called Villa Magica which he started to realize his ironic musical tastes and his obsessions with Christmas music ranging from the conceptual to kitsch or literal. Both will combine blatant sentimentality with vanguard experimentation for a holiday experience like none other that you’ve heard before on Friday, December 1 at 7pm at ICA.

In conjunction with ICA’s current exhibition “John Armleder, About Nothing. Works On Paper 1962-2007”, a survey of 45 years of work which includes nearly 500 drawings on view through December 17^th, this performance springs from Armleder’s philosophy that art is the conduction of creative energy, a notion that is imperitive to his work. A highly influential, established figure within the international community, this is the first major exhibition of his work in the United States. Armleder (b.1948, Geneva, Switzerland, lives, New York) first came on the scene during his involvement with Fluxus in the late 1960s and 1970s, when he created performances, installations and collective activities. During the 1980s his “furniture sculpture” was highly visible within the context of “New Geometry” or “Neo Geo.” However his art essentially eludes categorization. He is widely known and respected as the co-founder of the group Ecart, which has been endorsing the work of artists since the 1970s through its publications, exhibitions and representations at art fairs.The anti-establishment and anti-formalist philosophy of Fluxus has continued in Armleder’s mixed-media works.

For Marclay it is sound, and our culturally determined reactions to it, that forms the basis of his art. Since the 1970s he has focused our attention not only on audible qualities, but also on the way sounds are experienced, visualized, and translated into other forms and creates work in which these distinct sensibilities enrich and challenge each other. Telephone conversations from movies, reviews of musical performances, compact discs, and album covers have all provided sources of inspiration for his work.

Marclay (b.1955 in San Rafael, California, raised in Geneva, Switzerland, lives New York) studied at Geneva's Ecole Superieure d'Art Visuel before returning to the United States to complete his BFA at the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, in 1980.  John Armleder and Christian Marclay have known each other since the 1970s when their art careers began in Geneva. 

The division between the realms of the audible and the visible echoes throughout Marclay’s career. He is well known as a musician, yet at the same time he has always been a visual artist. Marclay’s work is informed as much by Marcel Duchamp as by John Cage, Vito Acconci, the Sex Pistols, the happenings of the Fluxus group, and Laurie Anderson.

Marclay will be curating an exhibition for ICA next fall 2007.

A Spiegel Fund Event

For more information about this performance and other programs in conjunction with John Armleder, About Nothing. Works On Paper 1962-2007 please visit the ICA website at www.icaphila.org. All programs subject to change.

ICA is located at 118 South 36th Street at the University of Pennsylvania. ICA is open to the public, except during installation, from 12:00pm to 8:00pm on Wednesday through Friday and from 11:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $6 for adults; $3 for students over 12, artists, and senior citizens; and free to ICA members, children 12 and under, PENN card holders, and on Sundays from 11:00am to 1:00pm. For more information, call 215-898-7108/5911

ICA
Founded in 1963, the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania is a leader in the presentation and documentation of contemporary art. Through exhibitions, commissions, educational programs, and publications, ICA invites the public to share in the experience, interpretation and understanding of the work of established and emerging artists.

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