OTHER WAYS OF LOOKING AT IT: THE GRAPHIC DESIGN AND FILMS OF MACHINE PROJECT
The Brandon is pleased to present the first retrospective of the screen prints and performance documentation of Los Angeles art collective Machine Project. Bringing together over 50 posters and 25 videos made between 2003 and 2013, topics covered in this show include:
Indoor shipwrecks
Fire starting with sticks
Dog Operas (by and for dogs)
Vacations for plants
Converting cacti into musical instruments
Kimchee
Pizza
Psychics
Music for parking garages
Three disturbed big box store employees
Simultaneous aerobics and butter making
A drag tableaux-vivant reenactment of scenes from the Marlene Dietrich western Destry Rides Again
A workshop on how to escape from the trunk of a car “so that the next time you’re kidnapped it doesn’t have to ruin the rest of your day.”
Described in the LA Weekly as "Nikola Tesla by way of P.T. Barnum, with a dash of 'The Anarchist Cookbook", Machine Project is a non-profit performance and installation space investigating art, technology, natural history, science, music, and literature in an informal storefront in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Machine Project also operates as a loose collective of artists producing shows at locations ranging from beaches to museums to parking lots. Under the direction of founder Mark Allen, Machine has produced over 1500 events, workshops and installations.
Mark Allen is the founder and executive director of Machine Project, a
non-profit performance and installation space investigating art,
technology, natural history, science, music, literature, and food in a
disheveled storefront in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Beyond their storefront space, Machine Project operates as an informal
group of artists producing shows at locations ranging from beaches to
museums to parking lots. Under his direction Machine has produced over
1000 events, workshops and installations. Mark received his MFA from
the California Institute of the Arts, following a residency with the
Core Fellowship of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
Opening reception: Friday, April 18, 6pm-9pm.
Additionally we will be screening select videos from the Machine Project archives every Wednesday from April 23-May 21.
Gallery talk: Saturday, April 19, 3pm. Please join us for an artist discussion with Machine Project founder Mark Allen and Houston-based desinger and typographer, Sibylle Hagmann.
Sibylle Hagmann started her career in Switzerland after earning a
B.F.A. from the Basel School of Design in 1989. She explored her
passion for type design and typography while completing her M.F.A. at
the California Institute of the Arts. Over the years she developed
award winning typeface families, such as Cholla and Odile. Cholla was
originally commissioned by Art Center College of Design in 1999 and
released by the type foundry Emigre in the same year. The typeface
family Odile, published in 2006 was awarded the Swiss Federal Design
Award. Her work has been featured in numerous publications and
recognized by the Type Directors Club of New York and Japan, among
others. Her typeface collections are available from Kontour.com, a
type foundry launched in 2012.