Einat Amir's "Our Best Intentions" Commissioned & Produced by Artis for Performa 13 at Affirmation Arts
EXHIBITION HOURS: A four-channel video installation is open to the public from November 12-23, Tuesday through Saturday, 11 AM-6 PM
CLOSED SESSION EVENING PERFORMANCES: November 12-16 & November 19-23 from 6:30 PM-7 PM
RSVP REQUIRED: Click here. 20 participant capacity per performance. Each interactive, closed session performance is 1 hour. It is essential to book ahead.
Our Best Intentions invites audience members to take part in an intimate participatory performance combining elements from psychotherapy, theater and art. As individuals walk into a space divided into four domestic areas — a family lounge, a bedroom, a study, and a dining room – each participant selects a vest featuring an array of labels, such as "mother," "doubt," "addiction," "lover," and so forth. Under the direction of four moderators, the performance becomes a collaborative session wherein participants are encouraged to use personal stories and memories to confront unresolved issues, form momentary and intimate connections with strangers, and reveal themselves in unexpected ways. Our Best Intentions is an unpredictable series of interactions between moderators and audience members that seeks to contrast the individual/internal experience of therapy with the more dramatic devices of performance. As the action moves through the demarcated space, the audience is both active and passive, taking turns to watch other rooms and participate within their own, adding to the climatic, often emotional rollercoaster ride of different scenes that will unfold in the space.
ABOUT EINAT AMIR
Einat Amir is a Jerusalem-born video and performance artist, who confronts audiences with situations that interweave reality and fiction, challenging the viewer to test their own personal boundaries and question societal norms. Amir’s work has been shown at MoMA/PS1, New York; Performa09, New York; The Kitchen, New York; Dallas Contemporary Art Center; The Digital Art Lab, Holon; The Haifa Museum of Art, Israel; The Bat Yam Museum of Art, Israel; The Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel; Palais De Tokyo, Paris; Whitechapel Gallery, London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde; Winzavod Art Center, Moscow; Bergen Kunsthall, Norway; Fondation d’entreprise Ricard, Paris; Lilith Performance Studio, Malmö; and Städtische Galerie, Bremen. Amir received an M.F.A. in Visual Arts from Columbia University in 2009. She lives and works in Tel Aviv and is represented by Scaramouche Gallery, New York.
ABOUT PERFORMA 13
Founded in 2004 by art historian and curator RoseLee Goldberg, Performa is the leading organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live performance in the history of twentieth-century art and to encouraging new directions in performance for the twenty-first century. Performa 13 is the only biennial dedicated to commissioning, presenting and exploring new visual art performance across disciplines. For three weeks, November 1 – 24, 2013, Performa and a consortium of innovative organizations will band together to transform New York City into an international platform for celebrating live art. More information at performa-arts.org.
Our Best Intentions is curated by Noam Segal. The project is supported by Artis, Affirmation Arts, the Ostrovsky Family Fund, Outset Contemporary Art Fund, Franklin Furnace Fund supported by the Lambent Foundation and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Artport, and the Petach Tikva Museum of Art. Additional support has been provided by Shomrat Hazorea Furniture.