May 16 – June 24, 2006

Opening reception: May 19, 6–8 pm

Artist Talk: Curator's talk at 6:30 pm

Lora Reynolds Gallery is pleased to present SLAPstick, a selection of historical and contemporary performance-based film and video works that focus on everyday and not-so-everyday actions.

Performance video as a genre has accumulated a substantial history, with such artists as Marina Abramovic, Ulay, Vito Acconci and Bruce Nauman. Comparatively, contemporary work of this type has progressed toward a greater degree of absurdity. Ludicrous or sometimes melancholic characteristics commonly underpin comedic slapstick, to the extent that the audience often ends up laughing at the pain or torment of another. The absurd itself has a history in time-based art including the theater of Samuel Beckett and Surrealist or Dada film. This exhibition addresses the use of absurdity in performance video art featuring artists spanning generations and cultures.

The works in this show are not entirely humorous. In Yvonne Rainer's Rhode Island Red (1968), the meaning and definition of choreography is explored as she presents us with footage of the interior of a chicken coop. Over time the mesmerizing movements of the chickens become a Duchampian performance paralleling the form of modern dance. Similarly, the recent works of Mads Lynnerup are conceived as a form of "social sculpture." Ironic or not, these works question the definition of and play with the gravity of this Beuysian idea. In Running (1999), one end of a rope is tied to a tree the other to the artists foot, he takes off in a sprint and as he reaches the end of the rope he falls to the ground. In another suspense comedy, Untying a Shoe With an Erection (2003), a length of string is loosely tied to the shoelace of his right sneaker. After a few moments the slack tightens and the knot is untied.

The works in this show reveal that the light touch can still pack a heavy punch in video art. The show highlights works by lesser-known historical figures who, in their time, made significant contributions along side recent works from emerging artists. Included are pieces by: Charles Atlas, Harrell Fletcher, Mads Lynnerup, Damián Ortega, John Pilson, Yvonne Rainer, Nina Sobell and Ger Van Elk.

Christopher Eamon is Director of the New Art Trust, San Francisco and Curator of the distinguished Pamela and Richard Kramlich Collection, San Francisco. He was previously with the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. He has made his name as an art historian and curator with exhibitions like Art Video Lounge, Art Basel Miami Beach (2005), Video Acts: Single Channel Video from the Collections of Pamela and Richard Kramlich and New Art Trust (2002/2003) at the PS1/Museum of Modern Art, New York, and ICA London; In Sync: Cinema and Sound in the Work of Julie Becker and Christian Marclay (2001) at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and Bill Viola: The Crossing (1998) at the Aspen Art Museum.