The fabrication of a "museum"
was necessary for the
demand of gallery representation for other galleries internationally
exhibiting, or inviting me to perform, under the banner of "host
gallery". In 1992 in NYC 2 friends of mine had a shoe shop
on Mercer Street in SoHo that went out of business and had a remaining
month on the lease. Not being able to afford the rent, they decided
on selling on the 26th and6th Ave markets. I offered to take over
the space for a series of exhibitions within that month, thus bailing
them out and finding a space to show works within the area, that
then monolith of the NY art world.
NYC was in a tangible recession, and businesses were closing and
boarded up shop fronts abounded. It felt like a plague had literally
hit. I called this "temporary" gallery "Another Vacant
Space". "Another Vacant Space" has opened doors intermittently
in London, Copenhagen and Berlin.
I moved in to a former DDR apartment in 1996 and found the flotsam-jetsam
of an elderly man,including photographs,books and various personal
items and paraphanelia.I decided to exhibit these artefacts of an
"anonymous" man in SdB rotterdam in 1998,under the title
of Pansy Takes A Trip.Enlarging found photographs of lives unknown
to me.
In hommage to this unknown man,i declared my living space a museum.
AVS, didn't seem appropriate a title for the space in which i live,
because in a sense it was a repository of work and collections found
on travels and works swapped or given to me by other artists,as
well as the scattered,now grouped belongings of Herr ?. The bulk
of these works tended toward the reading of the masculine|male in
multifarious* forms. This was unintentional, museumMAN, having simply
being conceived of the combining of "museum" and my initials,and
to the unknown an,which led to the founding and inspiration of installations
and performances including,Boquets For A Dead End Street,Pansy Takes
A Trip,and Flotsam-Jetsam.
Artists started responding to the simple conception of the museum,
and began sending their works, or giving works of other artists,
including an early Medalla, a Dubuffet, Chillida, Tracey Emin, Susan
Hiller amongst others, and curious oddities worthy of the Magnus
Hirschfeld collection. Contributing artists include Pedro Cabral
Santo, Sico Carlier, Tripode, Misha Dare, Jorne Thielde, Sumer Erik,
Frank Schàpel amongst many
others who I'm very grateful to. museumMANberlin has now organically
burst and there are plans to approach the Berlin Senate for the
funding of a larger space where artists will be invited to do interventions
within a "lived in" environment. Next year a Roman based
circus group, a group of Italian sound poets are planning to do
events, as well as participating
artists from The London Biennale 2002.
The Museum MAN now installed in Liverpool,is an open venue in
which artists/performers/theorists/critics are invited to show and
exhibit their works in an intimate space and a cavernous cellar.This
project is
open to all artists,with an invitation to Liverpool based artists,and
artists worldwide.
Flat 1
30 Faulkner St
Liverpool
ph:0789 169 5577
Thanks all participating artists
for their generosity,their dedication,
their support
and
immense talents
in making MAN such a success to an appreciative public.
Guest Curator Liverpool-DAVID MEDALLA
Co-Curator Berlin- MONICA WEHR
Artist in Residance and Facillitator-MARKO STEPANOV
Artist in Residanece and Sister MAN-JILL ROCK
Webmaster-ARVINDER BAWA
PR-GULSEN BAL
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independent
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artists
