Bringing Breakdancing Into the Performance Art Realm

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In preparation for his upcoming performance in Dupont Circle, The Phillips Collection asks performance artist Jefferson Pinder questions about the event and his work at large. See Part 1 here.

Dark Matter 2_Matthew Clay-Robison

Still from Jefferson Pinder’s Dark Matter. Photo: Matthew Clay-Robison

These questions largely focus on your performance art. Have you or do you work in other mediums?
JP: Yes, I am an interdisciplinary artist. I create sculptures and objects, paintings and collages. An older worker of mine titled Capsule(Mothership) is being installed in the new National Museum of African American History and Culture.

How has your work changed over the years?
JP: I started my performance practice solely using my body. Over the last five years or so, I’ve begun to remove my body from the picture and now I primarily work with other performers. I got fatigued of looking at myself in my video work and I discovered that I could see my work better if I stepped away from the center. Not to say that I do not perform anymore—I do—but now I’m content with directing the action.

Are there any artists, art historical or otherwise, who inform your work?
JP: I am first and foremost informed by my mentor Dr. David Driskell. I feel fortunate to have his presence in my practice. I am a fan of William Pope.L and Bruce Nauman. In a strange way I am repulsed and attracted to Vanessa Beecroft and Matthew Barney. I like how the body plays an essential role in their work. I think Beecroft has gone off the deep end with her recent work, but I am inspired by her early pieces. I also find Francis Alÿs‘s work of great inspiration recently. I’ve been following him for years but most recently saw a show in Mexico. It was incredible.

How will this iteration of the performance differ from the original performance in 2014?
JP: Well, a lot has happened since the last time this piece was performed. In November of last year, people were still trying to figure out what would be the aftermath of Michael Brown’s murder. The Lionz of Zion and I really sought to physicalize a lot of the actions that took place in Ferguson. The performance was seeking to bring some of the actions closer to home. Since then, we’ve dealt with uprisings in our own area. We are excited to add some new elements in the piece that extend the conversation to include Freddie Gray and Eric Garner as well.

Your work is both emotionally and politically charged. What do you hope viewers walk away with?
JP: I hope the viewers will walk away thinking about the power of the uprisings over the last year. I hope they will have a deeper appreciation for breakdancing as an art form, in particular how it can fit into contemporary performance art models. I hope this performance will open up an understanding about movement and the potential that breakdancing has to be a political genre of expression.

 

Phillips-at-Home Summer Series #5: Reduce, Reuse, Create!

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Our fifth project of the Phillips-at-Home Summer Series features the artist Alexander Calder and his work Only, Only Bird. For this art activity, you are going to create a suspending bird sculpture out of reusable materials. What is a suspending sculpture? A suspending sculpture is a piece of artwork that can be viewed from any angle and is usually hung from a ceiling.

 

Alexander Calder, Only, Only Bird, 1951, Tin cans and wire 11 x 17 x 39 in.; Acquired 1966; © 2008 Estate of Alexander Calder/Artists Rights Society (ARS); The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.

Alexander Calder, Only, Only Bird, 1951, Tin cans and wire 11 x 17 x 39 in.; Acquired 1966; © 2008 Estate of Alexander Calder/Artists Rights Society (ARS); The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.

Look closely: What do you notice in this sculpture? Why do you think Calder used tin cans to create his bird sculpture? What is the significance of the reusable materials? What kind of bird would you create out of reusable materials?

 

About the Artist: Alexander Calder was born in 1898 in Lawnton, PA. He graduated from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1919 with a degree in mechanical engineering and held several jobs before he went to the Art Students League of New York in 1923. Calder is best known for his work with kinetic sculpture, especially mobiles. His work was exhibited in several large retrospectives, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York: the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Calder passed away in New York on November 11, 1976, soon after the opening of his last retrospective, which he installed himself.

 

Marjorie Phillips had seen a photograph of the Only, Only Bird and desired it for her 1966 exhibition, Birds in Contemporary Art. She not only published it on the cover of the catalogue, but also purchased it for the permanent collection. Marjorie admired Calder’s work, stating that “in bird sculpture, more imaginative daring conceptions and materials have been used than in any previous age. Calder’s most delightful vigorous ‘Only, Only Bird’ is developed from a tin can.”

 

WHAT YOU NEED:

Ideas for reusable materials needed

Ideas for reusable materials needed

  • Possible reusable (clean) items: plastic water/soda bottles, paper towel holders, tissue boxes, cups, plates, newspapers, magazines, chenille stems, beads, or anything else that you find to be reusable
  • Clear wire/fishing line
  • Glue
  • Pen
  • 8.5” x 11” white paper
  • Tissue or construction paper
  • Tape
  • Scissors

 

SUGGESTED AGE:

  • Ages 8 and Up

 

 

TIME FRAME:

  • 4 hours

 

STEPS:

1. What bird do you wish to create a sculpture of? Find a photograph of your bird. Do a quick pen sketch using the photograph to help you draw it. I chose a flamingo.

Step One - Sketch

Step 1 – Sketch

2. Now, think about what reusable materials you could use to create your bird. Every bird is going to need different materials because every bird is unique.

3. You will create the main body of your bird first. I used a large cup as my base and layered it by gluing tissue paper to resemble feathers. You could use newspaper or magazine strips to resemble feathers as well.

Step 3

Step 3

Step 3

Step 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Then, think about what your neck will be made out of. I decided to braid chenille stems. I poked a hole in the cup in order to attach the neck to the body.

Step 4

Step 4

5. Don’t forget the head! I chose a smaller cup to use for the head, using the same technique of layering tissue paper. Poke another hole to attach the other end of the neck.

Step 5

Step 5

6. Add features to detail your bird’s face. Think about what you want the eyes and beak to look like. I chose to use chenille stems. Remember you can use whatever materials fits your bird’s needs.

Step 5

Step 5

Step 5

Step 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. For the legs, I chose to attach chenille stems to the bottom of my main cup body with tape. Every bird is different so it depends on the size of your bird’s legs.

8. Finally, add any other features with your reusable materials that might be special to your bird.

9. Attach the clear wire to the neck and body in order for it to suspend correctly. I created a loop around the neck and then taped a loop on the inside of the main cup body.

Perry, the Flamingo, Sculpture: Julia Kron

Step 9

10. Give your bird a name! Say Hello to Perry the Flamingo. Also, feel free to color in your original sketch with crayons if you would like to.

Perry, the Flamingo, Sculpture: Julia Kron

Perry, the Flamingo, Sculpture: Julia Kron

Step 10 - Color in your sketch

Step 10 – Color in your sketch

Tune in regularly for more art activities inspired by artwork in The Phillips Collection.

Julia Kron, K12 Education Intern

Spotlight on Intersections@5: Alyson Shotz

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Shotz_Allusion of Gravity

Installation shot of Alyson Shotz’s Allusion of GravityPhoto: Lee Stalsworth

The Phillips celebrates the fifth anniversary of its Intersections contemporary art series with Intersections@5, an exhibition comprising work by 20 of the participating artists. In this blog series, each artist writes about his or her work on view.

The structure of this sculpture is inspired by looking at diagrams of space, mass, and how they interact to create the gravity we experience. I hope to allow the viewer to think about space in a different way: what is empty space, what does it look like, what shapes can it take?

Allusion of Gravity is made with clear, round glass beads which reflect the light and let the sculpture transform with the changing natural light during the day. Each bead also acts as a magnifying glass for all the other beads, creating many mini-sculptures within the larger sculpture.

Allusion of Gravity is one version of what I imagine empty space to be like. It was my first sculpture exploring the structure of space itself, and began a series I am still working on today.

Alyson Shotz