Anarchitecture

splitting house

“Of the many shows at the fabled 112 Greene Street gallery—an artistic epicenter of New York’s downtown scene in the 1970s—the Anarchitecture group show of March 1974 has been the subject of the most enduring discussion, despite a complete lack of documentation about it. Anarchitecture has become a foundational myth, but one that remains to be properly understood. Stemming from a series of meetings organized by Gordon Matta-Clark and reflecting his long-standing interest in architecture, the Anarchitecture exhibition was conceived as an anonymous group statement in photographs about the intersection of art and building. But did it actually happen? It exists only through oblique archival traces and the memories of the participants. Cutting Matta-Clark investigates the Anarchitecture group as a kind of collective research seminar, through extensive interviews with the protagonists and a dossier of all the available evidence. The dossier includes a collection of Matta-Clark’s aphoristic “art cards,” the 96 photographs that were produced by the various participants for possible inclusion in the exhibition, and images from a recently unearthed video of Matta-Clark’s now famous bus trip to see Splitting in Englewood, New Jersey.” Mark Wigley

The fibrous texture of tissue, the fuzzy follicles of hair, the string-like strands of veins and the bouncing qualities of flesh and skin all provide a starting point for new techniques and colors. Creating a fashion to mirror our own image, celebrating humankind. Mohair is the fiber that can create our splitting image; a versatile fiber that can translate all of these ideas and more, ranging from silk-like furry yarns to entangled textured blends.

Future Body

A stiff cyborg, fixed with a glazed and expressionless stare, dips her fingers into an alien-like amniotic fluid. Gravity shifts as droplets reverse upwards, forming a pulsing headpiece that encases her smooth, almost porcelain skull. ‘Future Body’, a new film by Nirma Madhoo, uses CGI and animated 3D modelling to explore technological embodiment, enacting it in a character that transgresses expected gender roles in a newly mechanised system of digital-infused aesthetics.
Set in the clinical, segmented interiors of a simulated hyper-real space, Madhoo’s cyborg is found dressed for battle, in pieces forming exoskeletons, a spinal scorpion’s tail and mantis-like shoes, designed by Iris van Herpen. A collision between her human and technological self is physicalised as she undergoes mitosis, splitting into two and performing a combative dance with her duplicate.
Currently showing in Melbourne in an exhibition titled ‘Fashion Performance: Materiality, Meaning, Media’, alongside work from Hussein Chalayan, BOUDICCA and POSTmatter collaborator Bart Hess, it offers a glimpse into the collapse of gender, species and machine into one another, in turn reimagining the future for fashion design and communication.

The Splits (Rehearsal)

The Splits begins with the bisecting of various string instruments into two halves, cutting them along their length, creating two separate instruments. The two halves must then be played together to complete a tune and are, thus, for duets (or quartets, octets or dectets) only—pieces which she is creating in collaboration with musicians and composers. The act of splitting at once destroys the integrity of the instrument as an object, and disrupts the conventional process of aesthetic creation that the instrument traditionally permits. Splitting is not merely an act of destruction, however. Instead, it opens graceful passages for imagined evolution: the split instrument becomes a newly creative instrument, permitting the creation not only of new music, but new communities (visual artist, the composer, the musicians, and the audience). Ms. Benson has “split” two violins, a viola, cello and double bass: all, cheap, mass-produced string instruments made in China.

Anarchitecture

maison de fractionnement

«Parmi les nombreuses expositions à la légendaire galerie 112 Greene Street – un épicentre artistique de la scène du centre-ville de New York dans les années 1970 – l’exposition de groupe Anarchitecture de mars 1974 a fait l’objet de la discussion la plus durable, malgré un manque complet de documentation . L’anarchitecture est devenue un mythe fondamental, mais qui reste à bien comprendre. Issue d’une série de rencontres organisées par Gordon Matta-Clark et reflétant son intérêt de longue date pour l’architecture, l’exposition Anarchitecture a été conçue comme une déclaration de groupe anonyme en photographies sur l’intersection de l’art et de la construction. Mais est-ce vraiment arrivé? Il n’existe qu’à travers les traces d’archives obliques et les souvenirs des participants. Cutting Matta-Clark étudie le groupe Anarchitecture comme une sorte de séminaire de recherche collective, à travers des entretiens approfondis avec les protagonistes et un dossier de toutes les preuves disponibles. Le dossier comprend une collection de «cartes d’art» aphoristiques de Matta-Clark, les 96 photographies qui ont été produites par les différents participants pour une éventuelle inclusion dans l’exposition, et des images d’une vidéo récemment déterrée du désormais célèbre voyage en bus de Matta-Clark pour voir Splitting à Englewood, New Jersey. » Mark Wigley