Jamie
Isenstein
Acéphal Magical
September 6 - October 20, 2007
Andrew Kreps Gallery is pleased to present Acéphal Magical,
Jamie Isenstein's first solo exhibition at the gallery, which includes performance,
video, and sculptural elements that interact to form the installation.
In the
past, Isenstein has performed within her sculptures and installations, calling
into question the definition of performance and sculpture, and examining the
relationship between the artist, the artwork, and the viewer. For Acéphal
Magical, Isenstein takes on the role of the magicianís assistant in the
midst of the classic "sawing the lady in half" illusion. Rather than
being sawed in half, here the illusion is of "sawing the lady at the neck",
suggesting that half of the box contains a body and the other half contains
the head.
Continuing the themes of headlessness and magic, a two-channel video
installation is projected in the gallery. In one video, a magician performs
with a saw, although instead of using the saw to perform the illusion, the magician
uses it to play a melody. The musical saw, an instrument most popular on the
vaudeville stage, is known for its voice-like quality. In this work the sound
of the musical saw now acts as the voice of the magician. The second video in
the installation features an oscillating fan playing a tune by blowing on glass
bottles filled with water. This video presents a repetitive musical palindrome
that serves as an accompaniment to the musical saw. The two videos play together
to form one musical piece by composer Paul Damian Hogan, which Isenstein commissioned
for the exhibition.
A third video installation comprised of a monitor placed
on the floor will face a Clapper device plugged into an outlet on the
wall. This device, usually seen on late night TV commercials, is activated by
clapping as a hands-free way to turn on and off electrical appliances. In this
installation a video of clapping hands will trigger the Clapper to
turn a floor lamp on and off.
Throughout the exhibition many juxtaposing themes
are presented. Headlessness and surrogates for the head exist simultaneously.
Everyday magic is presented alongside theatrical magic. The live presence of
the artist in the installation is equally countered with her absence and subsequent
surrogates. Finally, through the use of heads and decapitated bodies, music
and planned magic, the immortal question of the relationship between the head
and the body, or between reason and intuition is raised as a way to question
the nature of what it means to be an artist (or what it means to be an artwork).
Isenstein contemplates the slippery nature of representation and the difficulty
of ever truly knowing anything.
In addition to an upcoming solo project at the
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (opening September 28th), Jamie Isenstein has exhibited
in galleries and museums internationally including Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch,
Berlin and Meyer Riegger Gallery, Karlsruhe (co-operative project), Guild and
Greyshkul, New York, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco,
and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City.
The exhibition will be
on view from September 6th through October 20th. A reception will be held for
the artist at the gallery on September 6th from 6 - 8 PM at 525 West 22nd Street,
New York. For more information contact Erin Somerville at 212.741.8849, or erin@andrewkreps.com.
