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Here/Not There

Images

Young people dance in dark room with a single spotlight near a brick wall with the word "NUTZ" appearing in neon green tape.

Club Nutz at Frieze London, Oct 2009

Photo: Scott Reeder

Sit-in Discussion, Live Station Project Cabin, Weston Art Gallery, Feb 2010

Photo: Unit 2

Meg Duguid, Episode 7 (Purse), 2005, Ink-jet print, 24 x 36 in. (61 x 91.4 cm)

Courtesy of the artist

Natasha Wheat, Bean-In, 2010, Installation view at California College of the Arts

Photo courtesy of the artist and Sarah Magrish Cline

Natasha Wheat, Bean-In, 2010, Installation view at California College of the Arts

Photo courtesy of the artist and Sarah Magrish Cline

About

This summer, the popular performative art exhibition Here / Not There returns, and asks how participatory actions within structured events can encourage a collective act of creation. The viewer, rather than the artist, is the focus as guests are encouraged to participate in performing and creating works. Remnants and documentation generated by the artist and visitors during each performance are on exhibit in the gallery for the duration of the week through the following Sunday. Visitors are invited to return to the museum throughout the week of each project to witness the results of their contributions. Each performance of Here/Not There begins on Tuesday at 7 pm, from July 6 through August 1, 2010. Through these four diverse performances, activities, and events, the artists and public expand an understanding of performance, visual art, and ideas of communal engagement.

Scott Reeder, Tyson Reeder, Elysia Borowy: Club Nutz

JUL 6–11

In “the world's smallest comedy club,” visitors may experience an array of programs and events such as stand-up comedy, DJ dance parties, academic lectures, screenings, and musical performances. Every day features extended open-mic sessions for audience participation. Complete with a stage, disco ball, and DJ booth, Club Nutz is an eclectic and lively temporary venue connecting audiences with a shared Chicago culture of performers, artists, musicians, and filmmakers.

TUE, JUL 6

5 pm Ross Moreno, comedy and magic

5:30 pm Bernie Circuits, robot comedian

6:30 pm Get Nutz open-mic. Tell a joke, get a prize!

WED–THU, JUL 7–8

10 am Doodlenutz, a participatory drawing event

  • 11 am Video screenings: 3D screening, Rasmalai Dreams by Xav Leplae (Wed); Selected Works 1994–2007 by Charles Irvin (Thurs)

Noon Get Nutz open-mic. Tell a joke, get a prize!

1:30 pm Video screening: Comic Timing by Josh Shaddock, presented by White Columns

2:30 pm Presentations: Golden Age (Wed); Virtual Comedy from the Past by Scott Reeder (Thurs)

3:30-5 pm Get Nutz open-mic. Tell a joke and win a prize!

FRI–SAT, JUL 9–10

10 am Doodlenutz, a drawing event, hosted by Pooper and Pizza Dog (Fri) and Jacob Goudreault (Sat)

  • 11 am 3D video screening, Rasmalai Dreams, by Xav Leplae

Noon Get Nutz open-mic. Tell a joke and win a prize!

1:30 pm Video screening, One Mother’s Love, by Michelle Grabner, David Robbins, and Brad Killam (Fri)

2:30 pm Performances: Bernie Circuits, robot comedian (Fri); Mystery Performance by Scott Reeder (Sat)

3 pm Performances: Sonata in 2-D by Scott and Tyson Reeder (Fri); Matt Cook (Sat)

3:30 pm Performances: DJ Nevin Tomlinson (Fri); Marissa Perel (Sat)

4 pm DJ ENTRO MC (Sat)

SUN, JUL 11

10 am Doodlenutz, a participatory drawing event

  • 11am Performance by Mrs. Hound (Andy Hall)

Noon Get Nutz open-mic. Tell a joke and win a prize!

1:30 pm Folk Festival

3 pm 30-minute video from Milwaukee International

3:30 pm Derek Erdman, stand-up comedy

4 pm Get Nutz closing extravaganza

Natasha Wheat: Self Contained

JUL 13–18

Calling all foodies: The orangerie, a type of building which grew oranges on estates such as the Palace of the Louvre before the French Revolution, serves as an inspiration for this work. On Tuesday, a temporary, free restaurant serves a communal meal which includes citrus foods. Seating in the restaurant is made from surplus materials such as pallets and crates related to the fruit industry. Throughout the week, lectures and discussions about the culture of food, agriculture, and the emancipating potential of exhibition space take place at various times in the gallery.

TUE, JUL 13

6–8 pm Communal meal prepared by Abe Conlon of X-marx; Readings from The First Step Towards a Real Alliance is the Dropping of Illusions, by Salem Collo-Julin, Dan S. Wang, Mike Wolf, and Natasha Wheat

WED, JUL 14

10 am–5 pm Tasting: Bitter, sour, salty, numbing, and sweet

2:30–5 pm Chef collaboration: Beth Jacob of Macaron Chicago

THU, JUL 15

10 am–5 pm Tasting: Bitter, sour, salty, numbing, and sweet

2:30–5 pm Chef collaboration: Mystery Chef

FRI, JUL 16

10 am–5 pm Tasting: Bitter, sour, salty, numbing, and sweet

2:30–5 pm Chef collaboration: Efrain Cuevas of Clandestino

SAT, JUL 17

10 am–5 pm Tasting: Bitter, sour, salty, numbing, and sweet

10:15 am–4:50 pm Film screening (theater): La Commune

2:30–5 pm Chef collaboration: Courtney Moran, independent food worker

SUN, JUL 18

10 am–5 pm Tasting: Bitter, sour, salty, numbing, and sweet

10:15 am–4:50 pm Film screening (theater): La Commune

2:30–5 pm Food demonstration and performance by Farmer John Peterson of Angelic Organics

Unit 2 Art and Design Collective – Christopher Tourre, Wendy Uhlman, Steve Zieverink: Live Station Project

JUL 20–25

For this work, the gallery becomes a place of learning, listening, contemplation, and dialogue, as it incorporates the ideas of studio practice, reuse of materials, and an examination of the local waste stream. Live Station Project aims to be an evolving “tool-box” where the public is invited to build, draw, write, and share. Various stations such as a construction station; salvaged material station; research, archive, and listening station; and contemplation and interaction station, allow the public to learn how to create objects with salvaged materials. Materials, from the waste stream at large, are prepared for reuse and the objects may remain in the gallery or may be taken home. The various stations not only provide materials but also serve as a resource center for recorded expert interviews, research materials, and how-to guides. Reused materials sponsored by ReBuilding Exchange.

Participation stations are open at the following times:

TUE, JUL 20:

7–8 pm

  • THU, JUL 22:

Noon–4 pm

  • SAT, JUL 24:

Noon–4 pm

Meg Duguid: Everyone is a Bathing Beauty

JUL 27–AUG 1

Drawing from George Bernard Shaw's classic play Pygmalion, with a Busby Berkeley twist, visitors may perform in short, scripted scenes playing the role of Henry Higgins, Eliza Doolittle, or a supporting character. On July 27, at 7 pm, a large-scale Busby Berkeley dance scene utilizing audience members is performed and filmed on the MCA Plaza. During the week, audience members are invited to act and are given cards with a description of a scene, along with a minimal costume that represents the character. Scenes are edited by Duguid and presented the following day on television monitors in the gallery, culminating in a finished work. By the end of the week, the silent movie features numerous visitors acting as Higgins's and Doolittle's of varying age, gender, race, and physical appearances.

TUE, JUL 27:

5–8 pm Film shoot: Bugsby Berkeley dance number

  • WED–SAT, JUL 28–31:

Noon–5 pm Film shoots: individual scenes

  • SUN, AUG 1:

Film screening of the final movie

Here/Not There is curated by MCA Associate Curator Tricia Van Eck in coordination with the MCA Convergence team comprised of members of the curatorial, performance, education, and marketing departments.

Here/Not There video still

Video

Here/Not There video still

Video