ARI BENJAMIN MEYERS ’ELEVATOR MUSIC’
Ari Benjamin Meyers ‘Elevator Music’
Exhibition presented in the series ‘Sound Systems’
Exhibition: October 2-December 31, 2016
Vernissage: Saturday, October 1 at 7pm
Artist talk with independent curator Annabelle
von Girsewald: Sunday, October 2 at 2pm
‘Elevator Music’ is a homage to the contemporary redefinition
of the concept of transitory spaces, often woefully unnoticed
within the realms of daily human activities. As a performative
installation within the building of TRAFO it surprises and disturbes the un-expecting visitor as he or she moves through the
different levels of the institution. The motions of leaving and entering the space are reflected above all in the music and references Meyer’s earlier work, ‘Chamber Music’ composed for the
Berlinische Galerie in 2013. Despite the architectural necessity
of such in-between spaces, the importance of their role and
functionality is often belied by their noticeability within a given
architectural model. ‘Elevator Music’ flips the the expectations
of banality and boredom as encountered in the process of such
journeys on their head, allowing Meyers to highlight the moments of everyday ordinariness by exploiting the performative
possibilities of such transitory minutes. The work features musician Ayumi Paul on violin.
Ari Benjamin Meyers, born 1972 in New York, lives and works
in Berlin. In his work Meyers, who trained as a composer and
conductor at The Juilliard School, Yale University, and Peabody
Institute, explores structures and processes that redefine the
performative, social, and ephemeral nature of music. Past solo
exhibitions and projects include Black Thoughts, Esther Schipper (2013); Chamber Music (Vestibule), Berlinische Galerie (20132014); Just in Time, Just in Sequence, This is Not Detroit Festival, Schauspielhaus Bochum (2014); The Verismo Project (Franz
Hartwig, A Most Wanted Man) Kino International Berlin (2015);
Beating Time, Martin-Gropius-Bau Berlin (2015); Duet, Darb 1718,
Cairo (2015); Memories of the Future, Museum of Modern Art
Warsaw (2016); The Name of This Band is The Art, RaebervonStenglin Zurich (2016). Upcoming exhibitions include Hamburger
Bahnhof, Berlin (2016); Spring Workshop, Hong Kong (2017); Witte
de With, Rotterdam (2017); Lenbachhaus, Munich (2017). Meyers
has worked and performed with various bands including The
Residents, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Chicks on Speed. Selected collaborations include Ravel, Ravel, French Pavilion, 55th
Venice Biennale (2013) with Anri Sala; Morphy, Fondation Louis
Vuitton (2014); T.451, Tensta Konsthall (2012); K.62/K.85, Performa ‘09, New York (2009) all with Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster.
Meyers was Music Director for the staged group show Il Tempo
del Postino curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Philippe Parreno (Manchester International Festival, 2007 and Art Basel, 2009).
Collaborations with Tino Sehgal include Symphony X (installation version), KW Berlin and K21 Dusseldorf (2014) This Variation,
Documenta 13 Kassel (2012) and a new ballet to premiere at
the Paris Opera in September 2016. The book ‘Music on Display’
chronicling his work and practice has been recently released by
the publisher Walther König.
‘SOUND SYSTEM’ SERIES
From June-December 2016, TRAFO presents a series of exhibitions titled ‘Sound Systems’ featuring installations and commissions by selected artists focused around the topic of sound.
The series includes site-specific interventions from artists Janet Cardiff, Mateusz Chorobski, Ari Benjamin Meyers, Andreas
Greiner, Tyler Friedman, and Konrad Smolenski. The schedule
of the shows and accompanying events has been announced
on an ongoing basis. The commissions, which receive their premiere in TRAFO, were created in collaboration with curator Marie-Eve Lafontaine.
TRAFO CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
TRAFO is the youngest public center for contemporary art in Poland. Constructed originally in 1912 as an electrical transformer
station, the building was renovated and re-opened in 2013 as a
place for the presentation of interdisciplinary, inter-medial and
site-specific works by contemporary international artists.
The program of the institution located in Szczecin, the Polish
capital of the German-Polish border region West-Pomerania,
seeks to take into consideration the multi-faceted history of
the both the city and its own building by focusing on themes of
transformation and identity in creative
production and presentation.
Due to the special structure of the building and its concentration
on site-specific work, TRAFO is closely involved in the artistic
design process. Exhibition and project work is further supported
by TRAFO’s activity as a publishing house, through its own
art-specific bookstore (member of the network of bookstores
at the National Center for Culture), and a comprehensive educational program for children, youths and adults.
TRAFO is a public art institution organized by the city of Szczecin
and managed by Baltic Contemporary Ltd, with Director Mikołaj
Sekutowicz.
The café and bookstore are run by OK SUPER concept store.
ADDRESS:
TRAFO TRAFOSTACJA SZTUKI W SZCZECINIE
4 Świętego Ducha St.
70-205 Szczecin
Poland
T: +48 91 400 00 49
E: [email protected]
OPENING HOURS:
Tuesday - Sunday
11am - 7pm
PHOTOS (FROM TOP):
TRAFO
Photo: Mikołaj Gruszewski
TRAFO MAIN HALL
Photo: Piotr Krajewski
CONCEPT STORE OK SUPER
Photo: OK SUPER
PRESS CONTACTS:
Jędrzej Wijas
T: +48 693 271 973
E: [email protected]
Anna Konopka
T: +48 885 065 008
E: [email protected]