Audience as Subject, Part 1: Medium October 30, 2010

Audience as Subject, Part 1: Medium

Sat, Oct 30, 2010-Sun, Feb 6, 2011: Audience as Subject, Part 1: Medium
Sat, Oct 30, 2-4pm: Audience Roundtable

Audience as Subject is a two-part exhibition that reverses the role of the audience from that of spectator to subject, exposing the dramatic mechanisms underlying public gatherings of people. By focusing the viewer's attention on the characteristics and behaviors of individuals in a group environment – body language, facial expressions, attitudes, gestures and actions – the artists challenge our perceptions about participation in civic life. They reveal what we collectively become when we gather together to participate in a common experience and investigate the effect this process has on our individuality. The two parts of the exhibition will take place at YBCA over a period of approximately two years. Part 1 explores medium-sized audiences in such venues as concert halls, theaters and lecture halls. Part 2 examines the differences between large audiences, such as those attending sporting events, political rallies and outdoor performances, with audiences for smaller, more intimate events, including television viewing and computer interaction.

Part 1: Medium
The collaborative team of caraballo-farman present Venerations (Applause 3), 2009/2010, an installation in which hundreds of clips of audiences applauding in TV studios for live talk shows are shown continuously on multiple video screens surrounding the viewer.

Stefan Constantinescu’s film, Troleibuzul 92 (2009), features a man on a trolley bus making several phone calls to his wife or girlfriend, often threatening her in an abusive manner, in view of the other passengers, who become an unwilling audience.

For her video installation Isola Bella (2007-2008), Danica Dakić works within the framing device of a theatrical setting, instructing non-actors selected from the audience to tell their life stories, using classical forms of storytelling.

San Francisco-based artist Shizu Saldamando creates portraits focusing on individual style, identity and group dynamics at social events, especially those featuring pop culture. She will create a new work for this exhibition based on the audiences that come to YBCA.

Audience as Subject, Part 1: Medium also features work by Gabriel Acevedo Velarde, Ulla Von Brandenburg, and Adrian Paci.

Audience Roundtable
Sat, Oct 30, 2-4 pm
FREE w/ gallery admission
Artists from the exhibitions Audience as Subject, Part 1: Medium and Yoshua Okón: 2007-2010 discuss the role of the audience in their work. The relationship between the artists and the collective viewing body they imagine is considered, as well as questions around group dynamics, individuated vs. group identity, and what is revealed by portraying audience reactions separated from the object of attention or implicated by the performance on view.
Participants: Leonor Caraballo, Danica Dakic, Abou Farman, Yoshua Okón, Adrian Paci, and Shizu Saldamando

Audience as Subject, Part 1: Medium & Yoshua Okón: 2007-2010 – 701 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103 – Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Gallery 1

YAAW Lounge
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Public Info: 415-978-2787 or http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production/view.aspx?id=11356

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