Carlson/Strom: New Performance Video
Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery, Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Media Space, Arcade Gallery
Jan 24 – May 17, 2009
Opening Reception for Winter Exhibitions:
Thursday, January 29
Members Preview: 6 – 7 pm
Public Reception: 7 – 9 pm
FREE
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park is thrilled to announce the first major 
museum presentation of the collaborative work of choreographer and performer Ann Carlson and video installation artist Mary Ellen Strom. Through the lens of the historic record and art history, Carlson/Strom employ tactics of spectacle and humor to provide spaces of reflection about this contemporary moment.
Ann Carlson and Mary Ellen Strom draw on the disciplines of dance and video art and public and conceptual art to create work that merges and expands the boundaries of each field. Both of these award-winning artists have been collaborating on multi-media projects since the early 1990s. Their work shares concerns for social engagement, historical criticality, and an exploration of the everyday that in turn defines their joint projects. For this exhibition Carlson/Strom will present four recent performance videos from 2007-2008 and debut a large-scale installation, Meadowlark, commissioned by DeCordova.
While elegant, sharply executed, and humorous, these performance videos are critical re-evaluations of cultural and historical narratives. Displayed as immersive projections or installations, Carlson/Strom’s work simultaneously fuses video art’s tendencies towards the visually spectacular and its legacy as a tool for social change. In that spirit, Carlson/Strom have turned and returned to the problematic nature and histories of the American landscape as an ongoing subject. Using the strategies of collaborative performance and time-based art work, they examine the moving body within a range of ”landscapes”: the physical western vista, the economic terrain of late-capitalist America, and the artistic tradition of constructing these literal and ideological images.
Throughout the exhibition, visit the Process Gallery on the 3rd floor to learn more about Carlson/Strom's creative process and inspirations. Additional programming includes the following:
2.28 Artist Talk: Anne Carlson and Mary Ellen Strom
The Artists will discuss their work in Carlson/Strom: New Performance Video
Museum Galleries
3 pm
FREE with Admission
3.3 Modern Vision Senior Program: Tuesday, 10 am – 12 pm
3.7 Curator Talk with Dina Deitsch: Saturday, at 3 pm
5.6 Paul J. Cronin Memorial Lecture:
Ann Carlson and Mary Ellen Strom with moderator Michael Rush
Wednesday, 6:30 pm
