Last Chance to Catch Nick and Jake
2013-09-13
NORTH ADAMS, MASS. - Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' (MCLA) Berkshire Cultural Resource Center (BCRC) is pleased to present the final performances of New York-based collaborative duo, Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin at MCLA Gallery 51 for their exhibit, "A Marriage: 1 (Suburbia)."
Coinciding with the Fresh Grass Festival at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Nick and Jake will carry out two performance pieces from their repertoire; on Sept. 21 the pair will undertake yet another "Spray Piece"; and on Sept. 22, the entire exhibition will culminate into the climactic "Bag Piece."
For "Spray Piece," audiences once again will find the couple using a large array of paint to decorate canvas and each other, a performance that culminates with Nick and Jake collapsed on the floor, with hands interlocked.
The "Bag Piece" is a fascinating piece of performance art; Nick and Jake, together with several audience members, will read the entire transcript of Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, the case that overturned Proposition 8 in 2013, capturing their breath in plastic bags that eventually accumulate into a physically tangible representation of this event in history.
"A Marriage: 1 (Suburbia)" is a mixed-media installation and performance series. It reveals the artists' experiences within their same-sex marriage, and expresses their deep ambivalence towards their new status as a "normal" American couple.
Nick and Jake blend performance art, video, sculpture, and drawings with props and "performative residue," the rigorous and elaborate work of the duo echoing the hetero-topic iconography of suburban America today.
In 2008 when the pair were married, they suddenly were struck by "the realization that a once wholly hetero-normative set of aspirations: the suburban ideal, the traditional nuclear family, emerald lawns and Betty Crocker. All of these are part of our heritage as well, and for better or worse we have to deal with them. This is our attempt to unpack those structures as we continue to construct our own," according to Vaughn and Margolin.
This sentiment guides the entire exhibition, bringing viewers on a journey with the artists as they navigate through the tricky waters of what marriage actually stands for in these modern times.
"With each piece in the exhibition so lovingly and purposefully created, one thing is definitely for certain; Nick and Jake share a deep love and determination for each other," said Jennifer Crowell, BCRC program coordinator.
"A Marriage: 1 (Suburbia)" is on exhibit at MCLA Gallery 51 seven days a week, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The exhibit will be on view until Sept. 22. For more information about "A Marriage: 1 (Suburbia)," visit the artists' website at: nickandjakestudio.com, go to DownStreetArt.org, or call the BCRC, (413) 664 8718.
Original press release link
NORTH ADAMS, MASS. - Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' (MCLA) Berkshire Cultural Resource Center (BCRC) is pleased to present the final performances of New York-based collaborative duo, Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin at MCLA Gallery 51 for their exhibit, "A Marriage: 1 (Suburbia)."
Coinciding with the Fresh Grass Festival at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Nick and Jake will carry out two performance pieces from their repertoire; on Sept. 21 the pair will undertake yet another "Spray Piece"; and on Sept. 22, the entire exhibition will culminate into the climactic "Bag Piece."
For "Spray Piece," audiences once again will find the couple using a large array of paint to decorate canvas and each other, a performance that culminates with Nick and Jake collapsed on the floor, with hands interlocked.
The "Bag Piece" is a fascinating piece of performance art; Nick and Jake, together with several audience members, will read the entire transcript of Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, the case that overturned Proposition 8 in 2013, capturing their breath in plastic bags that eventually accumulate into a physically tangible representation of this event in history.
"A Marriage: 1 (Suburbia)" is a mixed-media installation and performance series. It reveals the artists' experiences within their same-sex marriage, and expresses their deep ambivalence towards their new status as a "normal" American couple.
Nick and Jake blend performance art, video, sculpture, and drawings with props and "performative residue," the rigorous and elaborate work of the duo echoing the hetero-topic iconography of suburban America today.
In 2008 when the pair were married, they suddenly were struck by "the realization that a once wholly hetero-normative set of aspirations: the suburban ideal, the traditional nuclear family, emerald lawns and Betty Crocker. All of these are part of our heritage as well, and for better or worse we have to deal with them. This is our attempt to unpack those structures as we continue to construct our own," according to Vaughn and Margolin.
This sentiment guides the entire exhibition, bringing viewers on a journey with the artists as they navigate through the tricky waters of what marriage actually stands for in these modern times.
"With each piece in the exhibition so lovingly and purposefully created, one thing is definitely for certain; Nick and Jake share a deep love and determination for each other," said Jennifer Crowell, BCRC program coordinator.
"A Marriage: 1 (Suburbia)" is on exhibit at MCLA Gallery 51 seven days a week, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The exhibit will be on view until Sept. 22. For more information about "A Marriage: 1 (Suburbia)," visit the artists' website at: nickandjakestudio.com, go to DownStreetArt.org, or call the BCRC, (413) 664 8718.
Original press release link
