Tamy Ben-Tor at Zach Feuer

The Israeli, New York-based, performance artist Tamy Ben-Tor is having her second solo show at the Zach Feuer Gallery in Chelsea. Concomitantly with the exhibition opening, the artist will perform a solo work-in-progress at the Kitchen on the evenings of March 28 and 29.

Titled "Judensau"—a historically-laden anti-semitic image dating back to the Middle Ages—the piece will continue Ben Tor’s exploration of different persona, which in her absurdist performance are meant to represent "embodiments of non-existing entities."

In Ben Tor's own words: "The characters I portray are not real. However they are specific. I don’t speak about politics; I use them to invoke feeling just as I speak in different languages in order to reach a nonsensical outcome. This is because it is only through the specific and descriptive that a tension with the abstract can be formed.”

For more information, visit Zach Feur Gallery and the Kitchen.

Nico Muhly and Shoplifter at the Kitchen

Shoplifter, Ultima Drama , 2003, ATM Gallery, N.Y.C., USA.

The New York–based composer Nico Muhly collaborated with the Icelandic artist and fashion designer Shoplifter (a.k.a. Hrafnhildur Arnardottir) on a new work, which was commissioned by the Kitchen. Premiering at the Chelsea venue, on March 7, the performance promises to toil in the grotesque and the uncanny as suggested by Muhli’s choice of collaborator—the Icelandic artist is, in fact, best known for her eerie hair sculpture—as well as by the work’s lineage. One of the pieces—titled The Only Tune— recounts the gruesome folk tale The Two Sisters: “a chilling murder ballad in which a young girl’s body is butchered and turned into a fiddle.”

Francesca

P.S. On a completely different note, check out Fashion Projects contributor Jay Ruttenberg's piece in the Sunday Styles section of The New York Times.

Social Fabrics

Teresa Almeida, Modes for Urban Moods.

If in Dallas for the CAA Meeting this February, don't miss Social Fabrics. A time-based exhibition on the relation between Wearables, Media and Interconnectivity, it is curated by Susan Ryan and Patrick Lichty and developed around the trope of the fashion show. Supported by the Leonardo Education Forum, it includes an impressive array of practioners from the design and art fields. Above is one the pieces included: An inflatable garment designed as "a coping mechanism" by Teresa Almeida, it has been worn by the artist in performances in crodwed public spaces, in order to explore the borders between public and private space.

Social Fabrics will take place at the Adam's Mark Hotel (400 North Olive Street, Dallas) on February 22, 2008 - 4:30 PM.

garment/research

Recently we came upon the work of Kelly Cobb. At the crosswords of performance art, costume design and social sculpture, it coalesces around the creation of garments and textiles. Based in Philadelphia, Cobb describes her work as a way “to utilize the garment/textile as a tool of connection and communication for re-dreaming creative models of living.” Her work is documented under the heading of garment/research on her website.

Of particular interest is her recent project the 100-Mile Suit, a three month long collaborative project that culminated in the “costuming” of the curator of LURE project as part of the exhibition Localized Locational Gravity at the ICA in Philadelphia. Following the show’s moniker, the project addressed issues of sustainability and tried to provide a symbolic and literal answer to the often-uttered question: “Where does your outfit come from?” Involving 21 regional crafters “working with all locally raised and processed materials,” the project revived arcane processes which ranged from brain-tanning leather and wool to hand-manufacturing buttons and making shoes out of local hide in the process of creating an entirely locally-made outfit.

Ultimately, the 100-Mile Suit seemed to highlight the social interactions which took place throughout the process, particularly among the various crafters, as well as trying to reclaim from anonymity the relation between wearer and garment.

To find out more visit, www.100-milesuit.blogspot.com

Francesca