Einat Amir Work | Artist Statement & CV | Return to Artist List
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Artist Statement
I combine the media of video and performance, in which I hire actors to perform by loose character descriptions I give them. This practice enables me to create partly staged, partly improvised, partly real-time, partly pre-recorded works, that aims to blend the notions of authenticity, fabrication, and manipulation. My studio is a “lab of emotional research” where I experiment in creating interactions that engage the phenomenology of the viewer.
Recently I have been working with three specific archetypal characters: An Interpreter, an Ex Boyfriend and a Crying Woman. I published open calls on Craigslist, inviting actors to improvise and bring their own interpretations to these characters. These interactions were translated into live performances and video installations where the actors communicated with each other and the viewers - who became an integral part of the piece. On Phase Three the viewers were invited to deepen their involvement - after seeing the characters perform in the gallery space they were offered to “hire” these characters, take them home and utilize them in any way they chose.
I try to question the boundaries of the concept “artwork” by making works that doubt their own creation process, mode of observation, and interpretation.
I combine the media of video and performance, in which I hire actors to perform by loose character descriptions I give them. This practice enables me to create partly staged, partly improvised, partly real-time, partly pre-recorded works, that aims to blend the notions of authenticity, fabrication, and manipulation. My studio is a “lab of emotional research” where I experiment in creating interactions that engage the phenomenology of the viewer.
Recently I have been working with three specific archetypal characters: An Interpreter, an Ex Boyfriend and a Crying Woman. I published open calls on Craigslist, inviting actors to improvise and bring their own interpretations to these characters. These interactions were translated into live performances and video installations where the actors communicated with each other and the viewers - who became an integral part of the piece. On Phase Three the viewers were invited to deepen their involvement - after seeing the characters perform in the gallery space they were offered to “hire” these characters, take them home and utilize them in any way they chose.
I try to question the boundaries of the concept “artwork” by making works that doubt their own creation process, mode of observation, and interpretation.
CV
Born 1979, Israel.
Education
2009 MFA Columbia University School of the Arts, New York, NY
2004 B.ed (with honors) Hamidrasha School of Art; Beit Berl College, Israel
Solo Exhibitions and Performances
2010 VOLTA NY art fair – a two person project in collaboration with Arlen Austin (with Scaramouche Gallery, NY)
2009 Men, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York.
(a one time performance that opened the show 100 Years – version #2,curated by Klaus Biesenbach and RoseLee Goldberg)
2009 Ideal Viewer (Phase One, Phase Two), PERFORMA09, New York (performance, three days)
2009 Ideal Viewer, Rosenfeld Gallery, Israel
2007 Acknowledgment, Rosenfeld Gallery, Israel
2005 Disgraceful Retreat, Herzeliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel
2005 Killing Me Softly, Haifa Museum of Art, Israel
2005 I’m Every Woman, Kibbutz Be’eri Gallery, Israel
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 The Absolutely Other, The Kitchen. NYC
2010 The Calm Before the Storm, Winzavod Art Center, Moscow
2009 Remember to Remember, VOLTA Basel art fair, Basel (with Scaramouche Gallery, NY)
2009 Columbia University Visual Arts Thesis Exhibition
2009 The Practice of Joy Before Death; It just would not be a party without you, Scaramouche Gallery, NYC
2008 – 2009 A New Way of Seeing ,Städtische galerie, Bremen, Germany
2008 – 2009 Ratti Foundation 2008 Program for Visual Arts, CareOf Gallery, Milan, Italy
2008 Good Kids, Rosenfeld Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
2007 This is not Israeli Art, Tmuna Theater, Tel Aviv, Israel
2006 The Archive; Digital Art Center, Hulon, Israel
2005 Gaza as Love, Minshar Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
2004 You Don’t Look Hungry, Limbus Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
Selected Screenings of Works
2008 Come Out and Play, APEXART, NYC
2008 Platforma Video Festival, the official competition, Athens, Greece
2008 Dumbo_Video Festival, Brooklyn, New York
2007 Video – Performance Happening, Israel Museum, Ticho House, Israel
2007 100 Years of Art in Israel, a Television Series, Channel Two, Israel
2006 GLBT Film Festival, Tel Aviv (Including a lecture about my works), Israel
2006 Act Art 4 Festival, London
2006 Israeli Art Week, Makor Gallery, NYC
2005 Final Flash City Festival, Slovenia.
2004 Video Zone 2nd international video-art biennial, Tel- Aviv Cinemateque Israel
Residencies, Awards , Scholarships
2011 Palais de Tokyo, La Pavillon, Paris
2008 Antonio Ratti Foundation, Advanced Course in Visual Arts, Como, Italy
2007-2009 Artis Fellowship,Columbia University, New York
2007-2009 Agnes Martin Scholarship, Columbia University, New York
2007 -2009 Study Fellowship, America – Israel Cultural Foundation, Israel
2004 Excellency Award, Hamidrasha School of Art , Israel
2001 -2004 Study Fellowship for outstanding students, Ministry of Education, Israel
Selected Press
Flash Art International, Interview, March – April 2010 Virginie Bobin
ARTslant, Review, March 4th, 2010 Yaelle Amir
The National, Review, November 16th, 2009 Diane Nottle
Time Out Tel Aviv, Interview, September 24th, 2009 Eitan Buganim
Haaretz, Review, July, 20th, 2007, Uzi Tzur
Yedi’ot Acharonot, Review, July 13th, 2007, Ruthie Direktor
Time Out Tel Aviv, Article, September 29th, 2005, Sami Duanis
Born 1979, Israel.
Education
2009 MFA Columbia University School of the Arts, New York, NY
2004 B.ed (with honors) Hamidrasha School of Art; Beit Berl College, Israel
Solo Exhibitions and Performances
2010 VOLTA NY art fair – a two person project in collaboration with Arlen Austin (with Scaramouche Gallery, NY)
2009 Men, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York.
(a one time performance that opened the show 100 Years – version #2,curated by Klaus Biesenbach and RoseLee Goldberg)
2009 Ideal Viewer (Phase One, Phase Two), PERFORMA09, New York (performance, three days)
2009 Ideal Viewer, Rosenfeld Gallery, Israel
2007 Acknowledgment, Rosenfeld Gallery, Israel
2005 Disgraceful Retreat, Herzeliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel
2005 Killing Me Softly, Haifa Museum of Art, Israel
2005 I’m Every Woman, Kibbutz Be’eri Gallery, Israel
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 The Absolutely Other, The Kitchen. NYC
2010 The Calm Before the Storm, Winzavod Art Center, Moscow
2009 Remember to Remember, VOLTA Basel art fair, Basel (with Scaramouche Gallery, NY)
2009 Columbia University Visual Arts Thesis Exhibition
2009 The Practice of Joy Before Death; It just would not be a party without you, Scaramouche Gallery, NYC
2008 – 2009 A New Way of Seeing ,Städtische galerie, Bremen, Germany
2008 – 2009 Ratti Foundation 2008 Program for Visual Arts, CareOf Gallery, Milan, Italy
2008 Good Kids, Rosenfeld Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
2007 This is not Israeli Art, Tmuna Theater, Tel Aviv, Israel
2006 The Archive; Digital Art Center, Hulon, Israel
2005 Gaza as Love, Minshar Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
2004 You Don’t Look Hungry, Limbus Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
Selected Screenings of Works
2008 Come Out and Play, APEXART, NYC
2008 Platforma Video Festival, the official competition, Athens, Greece
2008 Dumbo_Video Festival, Brooklyn, New York
2007 Video – Performance Happening, Israel Museum, Ticho House, Israel
2007 100 Years of Art in Israel, a Television Series, Channel Two, Israel
2006 GLBT Film Festival, Tel Aviv (Including a lecture about my works), Israel
2006 Act Art 4 Festival, London
2006 Israeli Art Week, Makor Gallery, NYC
2005 Final Flash City Festival, Slovenia.
2004 Video Zone 2nd international video-art biennial, Tel- Aviv Cinemateque Israel
Residencies, Awards , Scholarships
2011 Palais de Tokyo, La Pavillon, Paris
2008 Antonio Ratti Foundation, Advanced Course in Visual Arts, Como, Italy
2007-2009 Artis Fellowship,Columbia University, New York
2007-2009 Agnes Martin Scholarship, Columbia University, New York
2007 -2009 Study Fellowship, America – Israel Cultural Foundation, Israel
2004 Excellency Award, Hamidrasha School of Art , Israel
2001 -2004 Study Fellowship for outstanding students, Ministry of Education, Israel
Selected Press
Flash Art International, Interview, March – April 2010 Virginie Bobin
ARTslant, Review, March 4th, 2010 Yaelle Amir
The National, Review, November 16th, 2009 Diane Nottle
Time Out Tel Aviv, Interview, September 24th, 2009 Eitan Buganim
Haaretz, Review, July, 20th, 2007, Uzi Tzur
Yedi’ot Acharonot, Review, July 13th, 2007, Ruthie Direktor
Time Out Tel Aviv, Article, September 29th, 2005, Sami Duanis
PHASE THREE, Performance and Video Installation, Installation View at The Kitchen, NYC, 2010
PHASE THREE, Performance and Video Installation, Photographer: Paula Court, 2010
PHASE THREE, Performance and Video Installation, still image from video, 2010
PHASE THREE, Performance and Video Installation, still image from video, 2010
PHASE THREE, Performance and Video Installation, still image from video, 2010
PHASE THREE, Performance and Video Installation, still image from video, 2010
PHASE THREE, Performance and Video Installation, still image from video, 2010
PHASE THREE, Performance and Video Installation, still image from video, 2010
AUDITIONS, Digital Photographs and Video. Photographer: Michal Baror, 2009
IDEAL VIEWER, Video Installation, Installation View at the Fisher Landau Center for Art, 2009
IDEAL VIEWER, Video Installation, Installation View at the Fisher Landau Center for Art (detail), 2009
MEN, Performance at MoMA PS1, 2009
MEN, Performance at MoMA PS1, 2009
BECOMING, Video, 8:40 min, 2008
BECOMING, Video, 8:40 min, 2008
BORDER LOVE, Video, 10:30 min, 2008
BORDER LOVE, Video, 10:30 min, 2008
ACKNOWLEDGMENT, Video, 12:30 min, 2007
ACKNOWLEDGMENT, Video, 12:30 min, 2007
ACKNOWLEDGMENT, Video, 12:30 min, 2007