The Dream Machine, Courtesy of the weR2
In 2014 it seems every person, place and thing has a virtual stand in, existing in a kind of parallel world on the internet. The effects of these circumstances are debatable, but one thing is inevitable: even for those trying to avoid South Florida this first week of December, Art Basel in Miami Beach will blow up your Instagram, your Facebook wall and your Twitter feed. Images from the fairs, parties and brunches, plus a few obligatory shots of neon outfitted Deco hotels and coconut palms on Collins Avenue will flood the digital stream. For those of you here in Miami, we've collected a few internet-inspired art manifestations to visit IRL (in real life), and for you at home, a list of hashtags and Instagram accounts to follow, so you can keep up with everything that's happening in #Miami.
Ryan McNamara, MEƎM, digital C-print, 20"x30", edition of 5, Courtesy the Artist
Miami Grand Theater at Castle Beach Resort, 5445 Collins Ave
Dec 3 - 4, 8pm & 10:30pm
Presented by Art Basel and Performa, Ryan McNamara's immersive performance emulates the way we physically and visually relate to the experience of using the internet. With abrupt stylistic changes and overlapping layers of movement, the ballet interprets the effects endemic to the web-reliant era: information overload, shortened attention spans and hyper-connected yet isolated conditions, while also pointing to the utopic promise of the internet and globalized communication. The performance, which was commissioned by Performa in 2013, will be staged for two nights in the fabled Miami Grand Theater, formerly the Playboy Theater. Tickets are $30. McNamara will also be giving an artist talk in conversation with art historian Claire Bishop at Art Basel on Thursday Dec 4 at 4pm.
Twitter & Instagram: @MsRyanMcNamara #ME3M
89plus Panel Discussion | Focus: Branding. Art Basel in Miami Beach 2013 | Salon | 89plus Panel Discussion | Hans Ulrich Obrist, Brian Khek, Kevin McGarry, Amalia Ulman, Dena Yago, Sean Monahan, Simon Castets (L to R) MCH Messe Schweiz (Basel) AG
Miami Beach Convention Center, Hall C auditorium
Dec 4 - 7, various times
Many of the discussions in Art Basel's Salon series this year investigate topics regarding the arts in the digital realm, from the changes in arts media to the prevalence of Instagram in artists' practices. Be sure to take an obligatory yet ironic selfie from the audience while Klaus Biesenbach, Simon de Pury, Hans Ulrich Obrist and artist Amalia Ulman discuss "Instagram as an Artistic Medium" with co-founder of Instagram Kevin Systrom, on Thursday, Dec 4 at 5pm. On Friday at 2pm, artists and curators will discuss what it means to be a "digital revolutionary" in art, and at 6pm the discussion may well turn into a spirited debate about Art Basel's Crowdfunding Initiative and their partnership with Kickstarter. And on Saturday Dec 6 at 1pm, representatives from ARTnews, SFAQ and Mousse will consider the state of print magazines in the ever-expanding digital era.
Instagram: @artbasel @amaliaulman @hansulrichobrist @klausbiesenbach @simondepury
Daniel Arsham, Welcome to the Future, 2014. Installation view at Locust Projects, Miami. Photo Credit: Zack Balber with Ginger Photography Inc.
At NADA, 6701 Collins Ave; and Locust Projects, 3852 North Miami Avenue
Dec 4 - 7
You can see first-hand the results of Art Basel's Crowdfunding Initiative in Miami this year, with the successfully Kickstarter-funded, Art Basel-approved project, Welcome to the Future, by Daniel Arsham at Locust Projects, on view until January 2015. The installation fittingly addresses the inevitable obsolescence of technology with what appears to be a mass grave for 20th century electronics: VHS cassettes, boom boxes, game controllers, telephones, etc. Daniel Arsham will be giving a talk for Breakfast in the Park at the Frost Museum on Sunday Dec 7, at 9:30am. Also on view at Locust Projects is Simón Vega's performance installation Sub-Tropical Social Sculptures, and you can find Miami's favorite gallery at NADA showing functional sculptures by the collaboration 2J (Justin Beal and Jesse Willenbring) as well as works by exciting local artists.
Twitter & Instagram: @locustprojects
Alfredo Jaar, For Sale, Not For Sale, 2014. Printed matter, 30 x 30 x 30 inches. Photo courtesy of Alfredo Jaar.
UNTITLED. Ocean Drive and 12th Street; and Art Basel Public, Collins Park
Dec 3 - 7
Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar is offering up a participatory artwork at UNTITLED. as a "subtle intervention" into the fair environment: two stacks of posters, free to take and to circulate, printed with the words "FOR SALE" or "NOT FOR SALE." Existential questioning notwithstanding, the audience is also "strongly encouraged" to use the hashtag #forsalenotforsale to engage with the project via social media. Jaar's love of aphorisms that nag at the conscience is also on display at Art Basel Public, with the installation Culture = Capital.
#forsalenotforsale
Amanda Keeley, EXILE Books & Fruit Cart, 2014, Mixed media, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and EXILE Books.
UNTITLED. Ocean Drive and 12th Street
Dec 3 - 7
Among other special projects at UNTITLED. this year, a dedicated section will be given over to Finnish contemporary art, curated by Stockholm-based Aura Seikkula. Participating galleries include ARTag, SIC, Sinne and Komplot, presenting works by Finnish artists like Teemu Korpela, Olli Keränen, Maija Luutonen and Anastasia Ax, among others. Other projects to tweet about include local Miami artist Amanda Keeley's combination book / fruit cart, offering EXILE Books and exotic fruits, and The Dream Machine by collaborative art group weR2, which contains artist-designed housewares and accessories and free public WiFi.
Instagram: @untitledartfair ; Twitter: @UNTITLEDmiami #Untitled2014 #DreamMachine #FinlandRepresented
Future Brown, Photo: Christelle de Castro
Beatriz Milhazes: Jardim Botânico, Installation view Pérez Art Museum MiamiPhoto: Oriol Tarridas Photography
Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd
Dec 4, 8pm
The Pérez Art Museum celebrates its one-year anniversary with a special one-night event with musical performances by Future Brown featuring Kelela, a production by post-internet provocateurs DIS Magazine + THV Entertainment. The event launches WAVES, a series of art and music collaborations at the museum, and is open to PAMM members and Art Basel, Art Miami and DesignMiami/ VIP cardholders. While there, be sure to check out PAMM's stunning architecture and varied project galleries, featuring exhibitions by Beatriz Milhazes, Mario Garcia Torres, Leonor Antunes, Adler Guerrier and Nicole Cherubini, among others. And don't forget to take a #westernsunselfie in front of Mark Handforth's light installation.
Instagram: @dismagazine @pammpics #westernsunselfie Twitter: @FutureBrown
AMBARADAN, by Alterazioni Video.
Sandbar, 6752 Collins Ave; and The Byron Carlye Theatre, 500 71st Street
Dec 4 - 6, 9:30pm start time
Some of the best Miami Beach afterparties are to be had at Sandbar, adjacent to and sponsored by NADA. #NADAWAVE performances veer more toward the high energy dance party sort, rather than the staid gallery sort, and this year will also feature a screening of the bewildering video produced by ALTERAZIONI VIDEO, Ambaradan, "documenting" the techno-pop music-video debut of a remote Ethiopian tribe. The screening takes place at the Byron Carlye theatre on Saturday Dec 6 at 10:30 pm, with an afterparty at Sandbar.
#NADAWAVE
Edra Soto, Tropicalamerican(BWB) and Tropicalamerican(BWB)B, 2014
Aqua Art Miami, 1530 Collins Avenue
Dec 3 - 7
From internet to installation, this is the 6th year that art website ArtSlant has sponsored its online art competition that results in an IRL presentation in Miami Beach. This year's prizewinners--Edra Soto, Adam Douglas Thompson, Anastasia Samoylova and Oren Pinhassi--engage with image and object configurations that knowingly point to the issues of representation in the internet age. Aqua Art Miami is a favorite among hotel fairs, known for its relaxed ambience and emerging art--a good place to spot new up-and-comers.
Twitter: @aquaartmiami @ArtSlant #ArtSlantPrize
Installation view of Andra Ursata's Soft Power. Private Collection. Photo by Uli Holz.
Installation view of a sculptural work in Sanatorium with artist Pedro Reyes at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. Photo courtesy of the artist.
4040 NE 2nd Avenue
Opens Dec 3, 11am - 7pm
Miami's museum scene continues to shift and expand, offering visitors and locals year-round programming of innovative contemporary art. The ICA Miami celebrated the opening of its new home in the Design District with a kick-off event for Miami Art Week on Tuesday, hosted by Interview Magazine and presented by Forevermark. The inaugural exhibitions by Andra Ursata and Pedro Reyes are now on view as the museum officially opens on December 3.
Instagram: @icamiami #openingcelebration
Heineken House Art Pyramid.
1001 Ocean Drive
December 2 - 7
To preemptively answer the question that will come to mind when walking down the beach to the SCOPE tent--What is that pyramid?--this is what it is: It's a beer pyramid, not in the Cyprien Gaillard sense, but in the sense of a pyramid-shaped art space sponsored by a beer company. Heineken partnered with SCOPE for the Heineken House, a "live-art pyramid," wherein artists will be progressively working on 12 murals throughout the length of the fair. Sounds like a pyramid of paint fumes, but with a good ocean breeze it will surely offer a good opportunity to enjoy some Heineken and snap some Instagrams of works in progress by Tati Suarez, Hueman, Sharktoof and others. More street-inspired selections at the fair include booths featuring Logan Hicks, Swoon and Juxtapoz Magazine.
#heinekenhouse #scopemiamibeach