Green Screen Goddess Triptych (Ten Thousand Waves) (Detail), 2010
Isaac Julien TEN THOUSAND WAVES
February 17 - June 30, 2012, by appointment
Conversation with the artist and reception February 17, 2012, 6-9pm
RSVP required
The Linda Pace Foundation presents a special three-screen edition of TEN THOUSAND WAVES by Isaac Julien. The exhibition will be inaugurated with a special event, a conversation between Isaac Julien and Steven Evans, Executive Director and Curator, on Friday, February 17, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. at the Linda Pace Foundation’s private exhibition space. The conversation will be followed by a reception for the artist and screenings of the work. Space is limited for the conversation and reception; RSVP is required to rsvp@pacefound.org.
TEN THOUSAND WAVES was filmed on location in China and poetically weaves together stories linking China’s ancient past and present. The work explores the movement of people across countries and continents and meditates on unfinished journeys. Conceived and created over four years, Julien collaborated with some of China’s leading artistic voices, including: the legendary siren of Chinese cinema Maggie Cheung; rising star of Chinese film Zhao Tao; poet Wang Ping; master calligrapher Gong Fagen; artist Yang Fudong; acclaimed cinematographer Zhao Xiaoshi; and a 100-strong Chinese cast and crew. The original musical score is by Julien’s fellow East Londoner Jah Wobble and the Chinese Dub Orchestra, as well as contemporary classical composer Maria de Alvear.
“The original inspiration for TEN THOUSAND WAVES was the Morecambe Bay tragedy of 2004, in which 23 Chinese cockle-pickers died,” says Julien. ”The work links the Shanghai of the past and present, symbolizing the Chinese transition towards modernity, aspiration and affluence - the so-called ‘Better Life.’ I employed the visual language of ghost stories, with recurrent figures and images appearing and disappearing.”
TEN THOUSAND WAVES crosses the boundaries of past and present, fiction and reality, and feature film and documentary. Connecting social, psychological, aesthetic, mythic, and spiritual dimensions, Julien engages the viewer with poetic beauty while encouraging the critical inquiry of Western-centric cultural globalization.
Concurrent with Julien’s TEN THOUSAND WAVES, the Linda Pace Foundation also presents TERRAIN, Selected Works from the Linda Pace Foundation Collection. The exhibition includes twenty-one works by sixteen artists, including three works by Isaac Julien. TERRAIN, Selected Works from the Linda Pace Foundation Collection is on view from February 17 - March 31, 2012.
Visitors must make arrangements in advance of their prospective visit by contacting the Foundation and submitting a request including a date and time to visit. Ideally visits occur Wednesday to Friday between noon and 5:00 PM. To request an appointment please email: visit@pacefound.org.
The exhibition Isaac Julien TEN THOUSAND WAVES is organized by the Linda Pace Foundation, with special thanks to Isaac Julien and the Isaac Julien Studio.
Production and support of the making of the work:
TEN THOUSAND WAVES was produced by the LUMA Foundation.
The work was made with the kind support of the Linda Pace Foundation; the Udo and Anette Brandhorst Foundation; Colección Helga de Alvear.
Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Avec le concours du Centre national des arts plastiques (Image/Mouvement), Ministère de la culture et de la communication.
The artist would also like to thank Toby Devan Lewis and those who wish to remain anonymous for their kind support.
PHOTO BY ART INDUSTRIAL
Susan Philipsz Sunset Song
CHRISpark
111 Camp Street, San Antonio, TX
May 8-June 26, 2011
Reception May 6, 2011; 7-9pm
Scottish artist Susan Philipsz originally created Sunset Song as part of her 2003 residency at Artpace San Antonio. In the work, she sings both the male and female parts of the 19th-century American folk ballad “Banks of the Ohio.” A new acquisition of the Linda Pace Foundation, Sunset Song will be presented daily in CHRISpark, the one-acre park built by Linda Pace at 111 Camp Street in San Antonio.
CHRISpark will maintain extended hours throughout the exhibition, presenting the work from 12 noon until sunset, Tuesday through Sunday. Sunset Song will culminate each day as the sun goes down.
Please call 210.253.3310 for general information.
www.chrispark.org
Contemporary Art Month Closing Party
Chrispark and Linda Pace Foundation Offices
March 25, 2011
7pm - 11pm
Following on last year's successful closing event, Contemporary Art Month is once again working with Linda Pace Foundation to wind up the month with a memorable evening in Chrispark. The event takes place on Friday, March 25, 7pm - 11pm, including an exhibition of works from the collection of Linda Pace Foundation, an awards ceremony, live music, locally brewed craft beer, vodka punch, and food by El Tacomiendo.
From 7 to 9 pm, the Linda Pace Foundation offices will be open to visitors, featuring the debut of a new installation of work from the foundation's collection. The collection is generally considered to be among the most distinctive in Texas, with works from many internationally-renowned artists, including a number of San Antonio-based artists and former Artpace residents.
Austin's Athens v Sparta will open the evening with a pop-opera history of the Peloponnesian War starting at 7 pm. Following this unique performance, Los Mescaleros will get the dance floor going with their gypsy-tango-blues hybrid. The awards ceremony will then commence, in an updated, completely democratic format: votes for 8 award categories collected through the CAM website will be announced, and winners will receive certificates designed by Beto Gonzales. Finally, the evening will close with a high-energy performance by De Los Muertos, an engaging, seamless blend of country, punk, and goth.
Craft beer will be generously provided by San Antonio brew pub Freetail Brewery, alongside Enchanted Rock vodka punch thanks to Republic National Distributors. $15 admission will allow guests one complementary trip to the taco truck in addition to the open bar.
Contemporary Art Month Closing Party
Chrispark and Linda Pace Foundation Offices
March 27, 2010
7-10:30pm
Edgar Arceneaux’s Old Man Hill
Thursday, April 16, 2009
6:30-9pm
Mission Drive Inn Theater
3100 Roosevelt Ave, San Antonio, TX
Performance at dusk
For its debut, the eight-minute film will be projected onto the screen of the Mission Drive-In Theater. Arceneaux will release metallic balloons into the night time sky, which spells out the name Old Man Hill translated into Bosnian. Artists, collectors, and the general public are invited to attend this free, public event. The performance will be in celebration of the late Linda Pace’s birthday, and will be held at the now defunct Mission Drive-In Theater, located on Roosevelt Avenue on the San Antonio’s South Side. The work will be shown only once and not screened again. Arceneaux was an Artpace resident in 2006. Linda Pace purchased Old Man Hill that same year.
Old Man Hill is Arceneaux’s attempt to address the magnitude of the 1995 massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Sarajevo. He filmed the video among the architectural remnants and ruins of Sarajevo. As he walked through the city, he thought of his grandfather, who had a Bosnian name. The artist never knew his grandfather; indeed, no one in his family, including Arceneaux’s own father, ever met him and knew no details of his life. When Arceneaux’s father was 51, he learned his father’s nickname - Old Man Hill. “Old Man Hill is a memorial to that which cannot be represented,” said Arceneaux. “It reveals meaning to us as it disappears from our perception.”