Tag: contemporary video

Guy Ben-Ner, ‘Stealing Beauty’ in ‘Idea is the Object’ at D’Amelio Gallery

Guy Ben-Ner, 'Stealing Beauty,' video, 2007.
Guy Ben-Ner, ‘Stealing Beauty,’ video, 2007.

Imagine perusing bedroom sets in IKEA and finding a quarrelling married couple bedding down for the night.  Israeli artist Guy Ben-Ner is half of the couple starring in his own hilarious 18 minute 2007 video ‘Stealing Beauty’ that he shot without permission with a small camcorder in IKEA stores in New York, Berlin and Tel Aviv.  As he, his wife and two kids discuss the ramifications of capitalism on their family life, they pretend to read from the store’s libraries, shower in the bathroom and sip drinks in the kitchen, creating a provocative dissonance between public and private life and questioning the personal impact of political ideology. (‘Stealing Beauty is in ‘Idea is the Object’ at D’Amelio Gallery, Chelsea, through Aug 24th).

Jennifer Zackin & Sandford Biggers, ‘a small world’ at The Jewish Museum

Jennifer Zackin & Sandford Biggers, 'a small world,' video still, 2012.
Jennifer Zackin & Sandford Biggers, ‘a small world,’ video still, 2012.

If you’re at The Jewish Museum to visit the Vuillard show, don’t miss the chance to see a side exhibition of a single work – Sanford Biggers and Jennifer Zackin’s memorable video ‘a small world’ from ’99 – ’01.  Zackin grew up in a New York Jewish American family and Biggers an African American family in LA; the video piece pairs home movies from each artist’s family side by side.  Similarities between their experiences beg the question of how viewers might expect race and geography to influence a middle class upbringing. (Extended through October 14th).