One of the most influential artists of the 1970s, Gordon Matta-Clark, will have his work featured over the course of two days in Grand Rapids.
Thursday night is a presentation of his 16mm films “Fire Child,” Day’s End,” and “City Slivers” at the Grand Rapids Art Museum with Jessamyn Fiore, Co-Director
at the Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark, presenting a lecture after the screenings.
On
Friday at the SiTE:LAB Rumsey Street Project location, another group of films will be unspooled for the public in the garage where this popular ArtPrize venue will be the host location for ArtPrize Eight’s Volunteer Kick Off Party. This is the night of their annual volunteer appreciation dinner event, which is complete with a pig roast and musical entertainment from Disco Brunch.
For more background on Matta-Clark’s work, here is a statement from Fiore on the occasion of this special Grand Rapids presentation:
“Gordon Matta-Clark is generally considered one of the most influential American artists of the 1970’s. During his brief but prolific career, he transformed our understanding of how an artist can directly engage with his or her lived environment as he evolved obsolete architectural structures into works reflective of not only their rich history but also turbulent present context. He brought the audience to the work rather than the work to the audience, engaging them through food, conversation, and an immersive art experience – the work being something one would not just look at but journey through. The ramifications of his projects, both realized and unrealized, illuminated social and cultural inequalities endemic to contemporary urban and suburban society. His work was inclusive, like the beginning of a great conversation one can continue through to today.
It does continue through such great art initiatives like SiTE:LAB in Grand Rapids, supporting large scale artistic interventions that evolve disused community architecture into transformative artistic works inspiring the audience’s active engagement with not only the work, but their own lived city – each installation reflective of its past, present, and future potential. This is an expansive art experience: bodily immersive, socially oriented, actively connecting audience & artist & greater community. Not to mention it's exciting – the scale, the rigor, the enthusiasm all serve as an infectious burst of creative action – one cannot help but personally think and engage in its presence. That SITE:LAB takes the artistic practice of Gordon Matta-Clark as part of its inspiration is an exceptional reflection of his artistic legacy and asserts SITE:LAB as great addition to the ongoing urgent conversation about the potential of contemporary art to effect real change.”
To learn more about Gordon Matta-Clark place visit the
David Zwirner Gallery website.
Admission: Free