Ryan McNamara will stage “MEƎM 4 Miami: A Story Ballet About the Internet” at the Miami Grand Theater at Castle Beach Resort during Miami Art Week 2014. "MEƎM 4 Miami" is "choreographic exploration of the online world," commissioned by Performa, presented by Art Basel and co-produced by both organizations. Two performances will take pace on December 3 and 4, 2014 at 8 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. An invitation-only performance takes place on December 2, 2014.
“MEƎM 4 Miami: A Story Ballet About the Internet” interprets the architecture of the Internet and its multiple streams of information, which pours into personal devices and computers, according to Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB). "Exploring how we share content and process information, McNamara samples and remixes music and movement within an inventively staged environment that reflects the dense layers of our digital landscape," writes ABMB. "The performance creates a physical analogue of the cluttered nature of the digital realm, and the frequency and speed with which material is copied, created, appropriated, repeated, plagiarized, mined, projected and passed on."
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"The ballet engages multiple narratives – the Internet as a utopic space of unfettered and open global communication and self-creation, as sinister military infrastructure, and as motor for a round-the-clock infotainment culture," the performance description continued. "A fully immersive experience that questions the very possibility of a singular, individual 'experience', the performance plays with abrupt changes in pacing, music, and choreographic styles – from classical to contemporary – mirroring the close proximity different modes of spectacle now have to one another.
“MEƎM 4 Miami: A Story Ballet About the Internet” was created as a commission by Performa Commission for the 2013 Performa Biennial in New York City. The work received the second Malcolm McLaren Award as the most innovative and thought-provoking performance of Performa 13, according to ABMB. For its Miami Beach premiere, McNamara debuts a new and expanded iteration with additional performers and content.
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“I saw Ryan's stunning performance at the Performa Biennale in New York last November and was astounded by the way in which MEƎM redefines the audience experience, making physical the virtual experience of link-clicking, and simultaneously incorporating many decades and styles of dance,” stated Marc Spiegler, Director Art Basel, in a press release. “A few weeks later, when I first walked into the Miami Grand Theater, l thought it could be a perfect setting for a next edition of MEƎM.”
Performa Founding Director and Curator RoseLee Goldberg added, “Ryan’s work has a way of revealing to us the way that we see and feel when we sit in front of a performance, or in front of a computer for that matter. This piece is far more complex than it first appears, because it unfolds as one surprise after another. The viewer is both totally in the moment and yet spends hours thinking about it afterwards, piecing together what it is that one just witnessed.”
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McNamara is a Brooklyn-based artist known for combining different practices culled from visual art, dance and theater. McNamara has participated in three Performa Biennials (13, 11 and 09). In New York, he has appeared at The Whitney Museum of American Art, the High Line, the Artist’s Institute, and The Kitchen.
“MEƎM 4 Miami: A Story Ballet About the Internet” is Art Basel’s second collaboration with Performa. It will be presented at the Miami Grand Theater at Castle Beach Resort, 5445 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida 33140. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased by clicking here.
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On Thursday, December 4, at 4 p.m, McNamara will appear as part of ABMB's Salon program. He will converse with art historian and critic Claire Bishop. The talk takes place in the auditorium in Hall C of the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach.
BASIC FACTS: "MEƎM" by Ryan McNamara will take place at 8pm and 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3 and Thursday, December 4, with a by-invitation performance on Tuesday December 2. The 13th edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach will take place at the Miami Beach Convention Center from December 4 to 7, 2014. The Convention Center is located at 1901 Convention Center Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139. www.artbasel.com.
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