1979 Pink Floyd as Reconstruction Mood
2007. Performance, installation, mixed materials, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist. Comissioned for Various Small Fires
In 1979 Pink Floyd as Reconstruction Mood, Ei Arakawa, Mari Mukai and an international group of students from the MA Curating Contemporary Art graduating class collaborate in a live high-speed transformation of the gallery space (22 March). As in previous works, the performers involved construct sets out of building materials and use choreography, video and printing devices. The performance disrupts the gallery space, while unsettling interactions draw out the cultural differences between the performers. Arakawa’s performance has been inspired by the rapidly constructed NFL Super Bowl half-time shows, conceived by UK production designer Mark Fisher. Such stages are built and dismantled in around four minutes by 400 people during commercial breaks. Fisher is also renowned for designing rock concert stages, including those of Pink Floyd in the late 1970s. As part of the performance, magazines are produced live and given away to the audience.
EI ARAKAWA was born in 1977 in Japan. He lives and works in New York. Arakawa’s performances have been staged at exhibitions including For the People of Paris, Sutton Lane Gallery, Paris (2007); Meerrettich On Ice, Volksbühne Sternfoyer, Berlin (2006); Movement Research, Judson Church, New York (2006); Keep passing the open windows or Happiness, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne (2006); Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, Niigata-ken (2006); The Dimes of March, Reena Spaulings Fine Art, New York (2006); Performa05, New York (2005); Greater New York, P.S.1., New York (2005); Succeeding Where The Hippies Failed, Columbia University, New York (2004); Don't Think About Me, I'm Alright, Greene Naftali Gallery, New York (2004).
