Jim Allen, Contact, 5 March - 21 April

Jim Allen: Contact
5 March – 21 April 2011

In a seductive and visceral experience we see live dancers interact with technology; physical space merge with bodily interaction, paint splattering on performers and capes used to undress and re-dress.

ARTSPACE is pleased to present Jim Allen’s Contact as part of the Auckland Festival 2011. Allen is recognised as an influential artist and educator, introducing the New Zealand art scene to post-object practices through his reconfiguration of space, movement and performance.
Allen is known for his daring performance pieces initially exhibited in the 1970’s. For the Artspace performance series, local dancers will reperform the pieces over three Saturdays.

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Allen’s restaging of Contact coincides with Auckland Festival’s White Night, a local adaptation of the popular French Nuit Blanche which sees the city turn into a bustling outdoor gallery. White Night is an exciting evening event where museums, public and private galleries will be open until midnight with unique programmes of performances, music and other art events. For this special one night only occasion a free bus will connect the key arts precincts.

Artspace Director Emma Bugden says “It is exciting and important for Artspace to stage Contact given his important contribution to contemporary New Zealand art and education. It was the show that everybody knows about but it was never seen. Jim Allen is a seminal figure in many of today’s artists practices. It is a unique opportunity to see these historical pieces re-performed within a gallery. Contact is a highly visceral experience about bodies making contact and the interactions between technology and the human form.”

The restaging of his work today is considered a progressive approach to the re-presentation of New Zealand art history. The three part performance Contact was first performed in 1974 at the Auckland City Art Gallery.

ENDS

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