Two New Works Accessioned into 21c Museum Collection as part of Moving Image Award

Two New Works Accessioned into 21c Museum Collection as part of Moving Image Award
COMPANY / Published 3.6.2017 in MUSEUM
As part of the annual Moving Image Acquisition Award, presented in New York on February 27, two new works have been accessioned into the 21c Museum Collection: Jefferson Pinder’s video, Afro-Cosmonaut/Alien (White Noise) and Claudia Hart’s, The Flower Matrix, an augmented reality (AR) wallpaper.

“21c seeks to support visionary artists who are engaged with issues and conditions shaping our world today,” said Chief Curator, Museum Director Alice Gray Stites. “The addition of Jefferson Pinder’s Afro-Cosmonaut/Alien (White Noise) to the collection extends 21c’s focus on the subject of identity in a compelling time-lapse video addressing race, mythology, and power. Invoking a range of historical and cultural associations, Pinder’s imagery is both timeless and especially timely at this moment. Among the new Immersive Media projects presented by Moving Image this year, Claudia Hart’s Flower Matrix utilizes new technology to re-envision the still life with an augmented reality experience that transforms both physical and digital space. We are so pleased that this year’s award will be given to these two truly innovative and thought-provoking works.”

Pinder
Jefferson Pinder’s video, Afro-Cosmonaut/Alien (White Noise)
Afro-Cosmonaut/Alien (White Noise) is an escapist video narrative that ends in destruction when the protagonist plummets back to Earth after a mystical space journey. Like the doomed Icarus of Ancient Greek myth, the epic fall comes after reaching a brilliant zenith that is both mesmerizing and lethal. This white-faced Butoh-inspired performance is a crude metaphor of the civil rights legacy. Taking cues from experimental films, Pinder plants himself within the work, asking the viewers to watch the images of propulsion and power. Utilizing time-lapse animation, “White Noise” consists of over 2,000 photographs, with each frame forming an individual pose. Together, they form a continuous flow of activity.

Jefferson Pinder’s work provokes commentary about race and struggle. Working primarily with neon, found objects, video and performance, Pinder investigates identity through the most dynamic circumstances and materials. Through his meditative exploration with light and sound or his intensely grueling corporeal performances, he delves into conversations about race. His exploration of sound, music and physical performance are conceptual threads to examine history, cultural appropriation, and portrayals of exertion and labor. Creating collaged audio clips and surreal performances he under score themes dealing with Afro-Futurism and endurance.

Jefferson Pinder is among five contemporary artists and collaborators who will be honored at The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Spring Gala, set for May 6.