Power House Memphis

Rob Pruitt | iPhone Photos Memphis

June 20, 2008 - August 9, 2008

Power House Memphis Reception with the artist
opening on Friday June 20th 6 - 8pm

Power House Memphis has invited internationally renowned contemporary artist Rob Pruitt to exhibit his latest work. His playfully interactive post-conceptual projects include iconic "Panda Paintings" and, currently on view at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery. a waterfall titled 'Viagra Falls' made of sand bags, plastic, water, an electric pump and Viagra.

Born 1964, Washington, D.C., the artist lives and works in New York. Pruitt has participated in more than fifty groups shows, and has had solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, London, Venice, and Cologne. In 2008 Pruitt was Master Artist-in-Residence at the Atlantic Center For The Arts at New Smyrna Beach, Florida. He has recently completed a new series of paintings as a commission for St Jude's Hospital.

At Power House Memphis he is exhibiting a large selection of new digital prints photographed on his iPhone and made in Memphis.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Rob Pruitt: “Since I bought an iPhone it is like having a second brain in my pocket. I can seize my visual impulses and it's very satisfying.”

Information: Gavin Brown's enterprise info@gavinbrown.biz

 

Guest Project : Born under a bad sign.

Curated by Celine Kopp

Saâdane Afif (FR), Ulla von Brandenburg (GER), Marcelline Delbecq (FR), Laurent Montaron (FR), Lili Reynaud Dewar (FR), Mai-Thu Perret (CH)

Credit image : Saâdane Afif, Re: Tête de mort, 2008

© the artist and Michel Rein Gallery Paris



Born under a bad sign is a project bringing to Memphis six of Europe's most exciting artists to be in residence together in Memphis in 2009. Born under a bad sign will take place in several phases involving a research period and the introduction of their work to the local audience while artist are in residence, the creation of a book, and the organization of an exhibition that will premier in Memphis and then tour internationally.

PROJECT SYNOPSIS

At the center of Born under a bad sign is a journey to the crossroad of America—Memphis—a city with a glowing past that still feeds fantasies and stereotypes about American, particularly Southern, culture. Six international artists will be invited to spend time in the city, examine its past and present stories, culture and folklore. Foreigners who come to the city often know about the river town’s cultural history: Memphis, home of Sun Records, the storefront sound studio where Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison rockabillied their way to stardom. Memphis, where bluesmen Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters played for change in the pocket parks along Beale Street. Memphis, home of Elvis—and Elvis' home, Graceland.

They might drive past what was once the Mecca of soul music, Stax, called Soulsville USA in its heyday, or even randomly meet William Eggleston. They may also know something of the city's place in the civil-rights movement, and its place in history as the site of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Expectations and experiences will be confronted in an investigation of the relationship between Memphis as an idea, myth, and historical phenomenon and the socioeconomic and cultural realities of the city in the here and now.

Are people from outside only ever coming to America to see the remnants of rock stars’ homes? Is the entire image of America formed out of popular culture? What is left of the creativity that generated the roots of American popular culture? How has romanticism influenced images of the South in the eyes of foreigners, and how have Southerners, themselves, contributed to these cultural stereotypes? How has Memphis, through its musical influence, filtered these images to the popular culture of the United States and abroad? Historically, Memphis was a geographic, economical and cultural nodal point because of its situation as the first city by the Mississippi river on the way North, a crossroad between the South and the North.

The journey through the southern city, into America’s cultural crooked highways, is the ideal setting for these interrogations to take place. This approach extends a history of cultural examination of American culture by European artists of all kinds (Herzog’s Strozek and Wenders’ Paris, Texas being examples that come immediately to mind), but the artists of Born under a bad sign have been selected based on previous work or an ongoing practice that lends itself to examining the unique cultural situation of contemporary Memphis in a manner that is in line with current sensibilities and avant-garde contemporary art practices. The project is not meant to make any statement or to find definitive answers. It is the story of an experience; the journey of strangers in a city that seems strange and familiar at the same time. Ultimately, though, the experiences and stories will weave into a larger social context: America as a land of endless opportunity and as a place of failed dreams; the conflict between optimism and lingering dread, of cultural homogenization and eclecticism.

Memphis could be another urban renewal city, a bland characterless landscape of malls. Instead, the city is slowly emerging from decades of struggle against urban decay. If the golden years are gone, creativity lingers as a feeling generated by the city’s haunting landscape. In the eyes of a foreigner it doesn’t take long for the city to become a fantastical cinematic space, creating numerous broken narratives and soundtracks. Memphis and the commodification of cultural iconic references constitute the background of Born under a bad sign. The artists are invited to wander and explore interplays between white and African American cultural stereotypes and realities, between stories and history, and between high and popular culture.. Memphis is a feeling that leads way beyond the irony of hip and expected social satire, the putdown of rock tourism and the sarcastic visit to Graceland as a kicker. This project is not about the Elvis of the fridge magnets and t-shits. This is about legends and archetypes that have long captured the popular imagination.

PROJECT DETAILS AND ARTISTS

Title

Born under a bad sign was a blues album by Albert King, recorded between 1966 and 1967, and released in 1967 by Stax Records. The title brings to mind the musical history of Memphis, the civil rights movements, the situation and history of the South, and also vernacular culture and references to the occult (Robert Johnson and the crossroads curse, etc.)

THE PROJECT WILL TAKE PLACE IN SEVERAL PHASES:

First stage

A 4 weeks residency in Memphis. Central is the image of the wanderer as it will enable them to collate distinct references and border incidents between stories, legends, history and music. It will facilitate a breach and open up questions for the artists to pursue. During the time of the residency presentations, screenings, performances and talks will be hosted by the Power House Memphis and Memphis College of Art.

Recording facilities will be provided and overseen by Soul is Cheap records. Soul is Cheap records will orient the artists in the alternative music scene and facilitate collaborations.

Second stage

A publication, articulating the narratives, experiences and ideas born during the residency. This publication will be conceived as the script of an exhibition constituting the last phase of the project.

Last stage

An exhibition, taking place in 2010 in Memphis and touring internationally

TIMELINE

July 13, 2008 - Bastille Day at the Power House, Memphis to announce the project

Fall 2008 - Benefit Festival with local bands organized by Soul is Cheap Records

April 15 - May 15 2009 - The six artists are present in Memphis.
Screenings, talks and performances will be hosted by the Power House and Memphis College of Art

December 2009 - Launch of the publications simultaneously in Art Basel Miami and in Memphis.

2010 - Exhibition premieres in Memphis and tour in Europe.

WHY THIS PARTICULAR GROUP OF ARTISTS?

he six artists of Born under a bad sign are among the most talented and recognized European artists from today’s young generation. They have exhibited in major museums internationally. More than anything, they are excited to come to Memphis to show their work, discover the city, and interact with the local art scene and audience.

The six artists of Born under a bad sign share a common interest in narrative structures, visual archetypes and art historical references, popular culture and mythologies. They have been selected based on previous works that resonate with elements of Memphis’ particular cultural history or based on a practice that is well-disposed to create a work in relation with this context. Most of them are interested in collaborative practices and exchanges and have collaborated together on previous projects. They will interact with the local art and music scenes, exchange with communities, and dig through the city history, folklore, legends, past and present to create new works and create a publication. Their works range from painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation, to writing, music recording, video and performance.

PARTNERS:

  • Memphis College of Art
  • Soul is Cheap Records
  • The Bookmakers, Turin
  • The French Consulate in Atlanta
  • Etant Donnés: The French-American Fund for Contemporary Art. (Cultural Services of the French Embassy, CulturesFrance and the Délégation aux Arts Plastiques (DAP) of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, in partnership with the Florence Gould Foundation, New York.


Power House Memphis is supported by:
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Tennessee Arts Commission Arts Memphis
Hyde Family Foundations

45 G.E. Patterson
Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m. and Sunday 1-6 p.m.