Identity Tapestry to show in Switzerland

From the first iterations of Identity Tapestry I’ve been wanting to create it both in a museum space and in another language.  I’m pleased to announce that this May I’ll be doing both!  Identity Tapestry will be up as part of the upcoming show “Identity” for four months starting this May at the Vögele Cultural Center in Pfäffikon (just outside Zurich).

I will be flying out for the install and I’m incredibly excited.  Any iteration demands a look at which statements to include or leave or if new ones ought to be added, especially in a new area or situation. In this case the language use should be especially interesting because there are essentially two languages at work there: High German and Swiss German.  One is the official language which is used for nearly all text, the other is the language of intimate conversations and the inside of one’s own head.  Apparently it is only recently that the Swiss-German language has appeared in text, and then mostly in text messages, and only to very intimate friends.  How I approach these languages and navigate translations will add new levels of complexity to the piece.  Thankfully the curatorial staff is wonderful and I have a local Zurich-raised person who is willing to consult with me on language as well.

Living With Endangered Languages in the Information Age show Opening next weekend!

The “Living With Endangered Languages in the Information Age” show at Root Division is opening on the 7th!  I will have my new mixed media sound installation Cultural Fabric Breathes Still there waiting for you.

Much thanks to curator Hanna Regev, the participants (who chose to remain anonymous), to technical collaborator Dan Garcia.

        Opening Reception: Saturday, January 10, 2015 – 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Exhibition Dates: Jan 7, 2015 to Jan 31, 2015

3rd Thursday Artist Panel Discussion: Thursday, January 15, 2015 – 5:00pm to 8:00pm

I hope to see you there!

Speak a few languages?

Thank you so much to the people who contributed to this piece.  It will be part of a collaborative International show called “Telephone, recalled” taking place in France and the US:

É c o l e S u p é r i e u r e d e s B e a u x – A
r t s T A L M
Angers – 15/11 > 15/12/12
C e n t r e N a t i o n a l É d i t i o n A r t I
m a g e
Chatou – 29/09 > 24/02/13
C A P C M u s é e d ‘ A r t C o n t e m p o r
a i n
Bordeaux – 15/11 > 16/12/12
T h e E m i l y H a r v e y F o u n d a t i o n
New York – 15/11 > 24/11/12
S a n F r a n c i s c o A r t I n s t i t u t e
San Francisco – 20/11 > 06/12/12

——-

Other artists are enacting our pieces as described over the telephone and we are enacting theirs.  All of us are also enacting pieces from the original 1969 show.  This is where I need your help! 

I will be enacting a Mel Bochner piece.  It involves an international game of telephone of sorts.I call someone in another country, say France.  I read a text to them.  They write it down in English, then call the next person in a different country (say Italy) and read the text over the phone in French.  The Italian repeats the process, calling someone in a different country.  It repeats about 4 times, ending i an English-speaking country until the last person calls me again and I write the last version down in English.  The texts will be displayed in the gallery.

So if you are in another country… how many languages can you understand and write down?  Would you be willing to take a call from a stranger, write what they say in their language down, call another stranger and say it in your own language?

If so please contact me as soon as possible!  marymarch_art@yahoo.com