BlindSpot by Ying Miao  are handmade dictionaries of censored words which the Chinese government has deemed  dangerous and removed from usage.  Miao searches the internet for these words and has created her own dictionary of banned language.  BlindSpot is contemporary commentary on the shifting policies of China as it develops into a world power.

On view at El Museo Francisco Oller y Diego Rivera

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TOPSY TURVY combines art, science and the early 20th century epic battle between the adoption of alternating or direct electrical current to explore relationships with the afterlife, and challenge the common mythology of Thomas Edison as the “Wizard of Menlo Park”. Nickard will create a fully functional Edwardian radio room employing a period Tesla inventory rotary spark gap transmitter and a Marconi pattern crystal radio receiver, both tuned to the frequency of 1485.0kHz – the purported frequency of the spirit world. In his performance, Nickard will attempt to contact “Topsy”, an elephant electrocuted by Edison to prove the dangers of Nicolas Tesla’s alternating current use to deliver electric power in the United States.

Gary Nickard teaches at the University at Buffalo. He explores the interrelationship between visual arts, literature, science and history through photography, installation, performance and electronic music.

On view at the Carnegie Art Center

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Lisa Neighbour is an artist and teacher who lives in Toronto, Canada. She describes her installation, REMNANTS as a series of works based on articles of clothing.

“ I’m using electrical wires that are both functional and symbolic – the sculptures have electricity running through them. In a sense they have a life force similar to that of a living organism. My intention with this installation is to stir up pensive and ironic thoughts about death, about where we go, what we take, and what we leave behind. It’s not meant to be literal, rather it’s an admission that I have no idea what follows my present reality, and yet this lack of knowledge makes it possible for me to speculate wildly and endlessly through my work.” – Lisa Neighbour

On view at the Carnegie Art Center

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Jean-Michel’s work addresses our relationship to our homes—and the way homes create community in the face of the transitional and fragile nature of our lives—frequently going without notice. Reed documents and remembers, creating memorials that pay tribute to this instability.  Whether through fire or mortgage default this shift in our lives is observed and questioned.  Not through the simple didactic approach of a newspaper editorial, but in a visual display that allows the view to consider what do burned buildings and household remnants have in common.  By presenting homes in two seemingly unrelated contexts he expands to conversation from event, moment or situation to a larger discourse on lives.

On view at the Burchfield Penney Art Center

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Jamie O’Neil/Kurt Weibers is the inventor of Skippisox, a performer and video maker.  His art making approach begins with the establishment of an ultra-real context—in this case, an entire corporate entity (and, in fact, Skippisox are real—a product that can be attached to shoes to aid in the act of skipping—but as of the writing of this piece, they are not yet available to consumers). Within this context, he pokes fun at the relationship between actions and the problematic jingoist terminology characteristic of all industries—including the arts—through the use of video, performance, and the installation of trade booths and kiosks.

Performances at the Burchfield Penney Art Center and Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center.  For more details please visit the Beyond/In WNY 2010 Calendar.

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