PEEKSKILL PROJECT V Artist Highlight: Z Behl

Battle for Lagniappe, 7ELEVEN installation

Z Behl's animated installations of freestanding, life-size painted characters enchant and lure viewers into her modern tales. Her piece, Camera Obscura: Valley Tableau, will be part of Peekskill Project V's summer season, opening June 8th and 9th at 417 Main Street.

How do you see your work fitting within the overall vision of Peekskill Project V?
My work is to destroy the boundaries that exist between art and art consumption. I enjoy bartering my paintings with mechanics, dentists, and realtors. I try to carry my wooden army on the subway with me as often as possible. I like Peekskill Project because I love showing work outside of institutional contexts. Community building is the best thing we can do, (as artists and people) and sharing work with Peekskill’s community is something I am really looking forward to.

In some of your iterations of Battle you are dressed in a nautical rope costume standing amongst the other drawn, life-size characters. What role do you play as a moving, interactive piece in this installation?
I am the creator/destroyer. The paintings are my actors. I performed with a fleet of children pirates, in the gallery, under a black light with a lot of face paint and swordfights and thunder and lightning. The costume was inspired by the same experience that inspired the painting of me naked, tied to the mast of a sinking ship. I had dressed myself up in ship rope to strip for some set pictures for “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” The whole experience was insane and unforgettable. I’ve always drawn rope and fabric textures, so it seemed only natural to fabricate a bodysuit. Bodysuits remind me that the site of my work is my body. In a way I’m an actor posing as an artist—and an artist, photographing this actor.

Dead Jordan, 2012.  Aarchival Inkjet Prints, 24x36

I’ve read that at least some of your drawings or portraits are of relatives. Are there elements of a personal or familial narrative in your work?
All of my paintings are of loved ones—friends and family. There was no intended family story being told by any of the installations thus far. The battle however, being about childhood, imagination, fear, and lust, in some way brought me back to thinking of my little brother. The setting, with the ship in the pool, was conceived because of a family picture of my brother playing with our Playmobil pirate ship in the bathtub. At one point I imagined using the pool as the bathtub and making a painting of Walker 40 feet high, to scale, in the pool with the ship I made. Instead, I painted him riding Pokey, his stuffed dog, with a sword, fifteen feet tall and flying to my rescue.  I often cull imagery from our family photo albums. My father is a photographer, and my mother also shot a lot of us growing up and playing. Both my parents played a lot. I think that’s the best creative lesson they taught me.

Your Body Suit pieces are so intricate and really beautiful. Are they used in performances, or how have they been presented in the past? — I’m also quite curious about your Self Cocoon body suit because it seems so different from your other works. Could you talk a bit about it?
The rope bodysuit was the first to be used in performance. I don’t have a clear intention for their use, they are sculptural objects and garments. When I don a bodysuit, I take on a character, I become a trickster. The idea of the harlequin has always fascinated me. In Shakespeare camp as a child I was always cast as Puck, Rumor, Ariel. The lore of a mischievous, resourceful scoundrel is not so far from that of the artist. The Self Cocoon bodysuit was made for the MGMT “Kids” Music Video. We shot it in New Orleans, and I fabricated this monster, working with a team of other art department puppeteers. I couldn’t mechanize my monster, so instead I decided to wear it. I forced my way into this giant meat dildo covered in fake blood and horse hair, and had someone seal me in with Krazy Glue. My left leg I covered in latex so I could almost walk. I could not see, however, and the caterer fed me lunch by poking holes in my costume. I also peed in a cup inside the bodysuit, and changed my tampon discreetly while standing on set in front of Whole Foods. This was the birth of the bodysuits and my fascination with being trapped inside something you’ve made (my life).

Wood Kate, 2011. Oil on luan, dimensions variable

How did you come to make the work you are making today? Where do your major influences come from?
I am influenced by adventurers and people with massive ambition. I don’t see ambition as competitive but heroic. I work in film with Court 13, (a collective of filmmakers and artists who made “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and much more) because I believe in the power of a creative team. Growing up in NYC, I decided to go to Stuyvesant, a math and science school, instead of LaGuardia. I now see that choice as really important. I never went to art school, but starting in High School I always worked in the art department, building sets. I made paintings and taught myself many processes. Working on a large scale, working with other people, having a relationship to performance, all came out of this. I have more filmmaker friends than artist friends, and I think it’s a mentality. I cast people the same way they do, but I try to tell my stories through a single image. I am also invested in learning, in education, and in technique. I love to fabricate. I envy artists who live rich lives. Andrea Zittel is someone whose work speaks to me because of her relationship to it—Janine Antoni, as well. I have recently become fascinated by primitive photography and Imogen Cunningham is a new role model—less for her work than her life. Man Ray I like and relate to. Paul Sietsema has an incredible relationship to material and human attachment. Painters like Charlotte Salomon, Florine Stettheimer, Neo Rauch who have a modernist take on space and color appeal to me.

Casey and the Kraaken, outdoor installation

What are some upcoming projects or shows we can spot you in?
I am currently a resident artist at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City. I have 3 months here to finish a body of work featuring my bodysuits, with accompanying cyanotypes and relics. I am also working on two pieces titled Body of Work (featuring everything I’ve ever made) and Body of Knowledge (everything I’ve ever learned). I have not yet approached a gallery to propose the exhibition but if you are interested come visit me at Mana. I am also planning an installation for Prospect 3, the Art Biennial of New Orleans.

If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?
Dying and Riding Horses.


To view more of Z Behl's work visit her website at zbehl.com

PEEKSKILL PROJECT V Artist Andy Ralph at L&M Arts in LA

PEEKSKILL PROJECT V artist Andy Ralph is soon to take part in the group exhibition Neo Povera at L & M Arts. The show explores the trajectory of the Arte Povera (poor art) movement and how artists today continue to examine new materials and the commercialization of art and ideas.

Neo Povera will be on view May 23 - July 6. The opening reception will be held Thursday, May 23 from 6-8pm. L & M Arts is located at 660 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA. For more information about this exhibition and L & M Arts visit their website at lmgallery.com

To learn more about the artist's participation in PEEKSKILL PROJECT V view our artist highlight interview with Andy Ralph.

PEEKSKILL PROJECT V Artist Highlight: Elisa Pritzker

In Peekskill Project V's Strange Imposters, Elisa Priztker's Eclectica Store | Hudson Valley adds a bit of eccentricity to the collection of work that investigates our past, present, and future relationship with our environment. Here she explains some of her thoughts behind the installation.

How do you see your work fitting within the overall vision of Peekskill Project V?

From the very first moment I began assembling on-site my Eclectica Store | Hudson Valley installation, I sensed that it was right for the Peekskill Project V, for its content and for the location. The key reasons why my piece felt in sync with this show were that the Peekskill Project V was a departure from all of its previous editions because this year it was presented for the first time as a citywide experience (as an extension from the museum walls), that my installation was a store—a friendly and popular experience for most people, and that the subject was connected with the Hudson Valley. 

Eclectica Store | Hudson Valley, 2012. Photography, sculpture installation, (partial view), dimensions varied.

The one element that remains a constant throughout your work is the juxtaposition of the natural and manufactured worlds. Your piece Eclectica Store | Hudson Valley from PPV’s Strange Imposters takes the form of a store. Does this concept carry any other meanings besides weighing on the man-made side? How does this display influence the viewer’s interaction with your installation?

My store, as an art form, certainly adds a different component to my work. The store installation worked as a metaphor pointing to the eclecticism of the Hudson Valley. It gave the viewers a chance to perceive the Valley with different lenses, an opportunity to appreciate not only the obvious stunning natural environment but other interlaced aspects of our daily life here, all under the same roof of an eclectic store. Since supermarkets and shops are common daily experiences, my piece allowed the public to feel connected with the Eclectica Store | Hudson Valley right away.

Eclectica Store | Hudson Valley, 2012. Photography, sculpture installation, (partial view), dimensions varied.

Your Trunk series features sculptural pieces that consist of logs and trees wearing clothing. In one of your statements you’ve said that these were attempts to convey the “potential sensuality of nature” and the “warmth and intimacy of objects that are both foreign and dear to us.” Is there a hint at humor in these combinations, as well?  

No doubt there is humor in my Trunk series, but it didn’t happen purposely. I was not looking to highlight a humorous aspect of natural forms, but I enjoy witnessing the reaction of laughter when people view this series. A sense of humor is vital, and I’m glad that I’m provoking this trait in my fellow humans. I’m optimistic though, that the Trunk series will open up other layers that go beyond the first reaction. Hopefully, there is a chance for a deeper contemplation of nature.

How did you come to make the work you are making today? Where do your major influences come from? 

Process-process-process, passion, continued studio work, and a life dedicated to the arts. Currently, my art reflects a weaving of the natural and urban life. I’m inspired by everyday life observations from my own backyard—literally—and compelled to open up digging into the mystery of nature in juxtaposition with my on-and-off city life. 

What are some upcoming projects or shows we can spot you in?

Until May 26, I’m exhibiting at the Taste Modern Berlin in Berlin, Germany. Currently, I’m part of the The Dorsky Collects: Recent Acquisitions 2008-2012 at the Samuel Dorsky Museum, curated by Wayne Lemka. Soon, I’ll be traveling to Buenos Aires to attend and document the 22^nd Edition of ArteBA and present in Argentina two talks on my art career. In the fall, I’m participating in Pinta, the Latin-American art fair in New York City through Galeria ArtexArte.

If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?

I don’t know, really.

If you would like to view more of Pritzker's work visit her website at elisapritzker.com

Peekskill Project V Artist Exhibits Solo Show in Berlin

Peekskill Project V's Elisa Pritzker will be showing at the gallery Taste Modern in Berlin. The show entitled Zippers and Antlers is currently on view and will be up until May 26th.

Elisa Pritzker is an artist and independent curator. Her mixed media works have exhibited in the United States and numerous countries abroad. Pritzker has participated in group exhibitions at the MoMA, the Queens Museum, and the Dorksy Museum. She has curated exhibits in New York City, Washington DC, the Hudson Valley, Albany, and abroad, as well as having served as panelist for the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). 

Taste Modern is located at Fasanenstrasse 29, 10719 Berlin. The opening reception for Zippers and Antlers will be held Saturday, May 4th at 7-9pm. For more information about the show visit their website at taste-modern.de, and to see more of Pritzker's recent work view her website at elisapritzker.com

Elisa Pritzker, ECLECTICA STORE | Hudson Valley, 2012.
Photography-objects installation partial view, dimensions varied.

 

PEEKSKILL PROJECT V ARTIST HIGHLIGHT: Lilla LoCurto and Bill Outcault

Lilla LoCurto and Bill Outcault are a collaborative team that produce video animations, prints, photographs, and installations that deconstruct the body and portray human frailty. They have recently been named Guggenheim Fellows and are featured in HVCCA's Body as Landscape exhibition which opened May 12th.

How do you see your work fitting within the overall vision of Peekskill Project V and the Body as Landscape exhibition?

We understand the theme for this year's Peekskill Project V is an exhibition that explores the human relationship to the landscape. Our work focuses on the frailty of the human body and we use technology to map and re-visualize the figure. Mapping is an alternate way to view the three-dimensional world around us; a flat street map being another way to experience the round earth on which we live. As such, our geographic deconstructions of the figure refer conceptually and visually to the body as a landscape.

Your process employs some advanced technologies. Could you describe how you’ve made your recent pieces?

We've been using a three-dimensional whole body scanner to place the figure into the computer in order to explore and manipulate it virtually. With time-based, custom software we then make video animations by generating choreographed imagery that allows us to investigate the human body and alter the way we visualize it. In our most recent work, we've also incorporated motion capture, tying the 3-D body scans to actual choreographed performer's movements.

How do you have access to this device? What are these scanners typically used for?

We've accessed the scanners usually through military and DOD installations where they're used for anthropological and biometric data gathering. We also work with institutions and universities that have motion capture equipment and students who can assist with our projects. We have the software at our studio to process and composite the different material.

How do you view the relationship between your subject matter and your medium and process?

Our subject matter, the body's frailty and its relationship to the culture, is influenced and mediated through the process of its digital remapping and deconstruction within the computer. The medium we ultimately choose to represent the ideas varies as we make prints, photographs, animations, and objects.

How did you come to make the work you are making today? Where do your major influences come from?

We both worked for a number of years more or less conventionally as sculptors. Working in three dimensions via the computer is not as far removed as it may sound and seemed to be a logical outgrowth of that way of experiencing the world. We initially began using computer technology about 15 years ago in a project that created two-dimensional photographic maps from our three-dimensionally scanned bodies. From there it was a natural progression, partly as a result of the process itself, to represent the ideas through moving imagery. There are numerous artists, especially those working in video in the 70s, who have influenced our work, some for the audacity of their vision as much as their content. We continually look at not just art, but other things as well and learn from everyone. The map project, for example, began after a chance encounter with Buckminster Fuller's icosahedron map projection from the 1930s.

What are some upcoming projects or shows we can spot you in?

This year we are recipients of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and a very exciting project that is coming up is a residency at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tuebingen, Germany.

If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?

Lilla: This is a difficult question because it seems to imply a job, a vocation where one earns one's living. There are many artists, professionals by any measure, who earn their living “doing” something else and at the same time still "do" art. I'm the daughter of a psychiatrist and issues of perception and human vulnerability were ideas I grew up trying to understand and reconcile in my mind. From an early age, art became a way to explore my relationship to these feelings and I don't know of another field that would have allowed me to do that as well.

Bill: By way of encouraging me to find a rewarding career choice, my dad, who was a contractor, always told me I'd never get anywhere working with my hands. As was often the case, I didn't pay much attention to his advice and became an artist. There's an argument to be made, of course, that he may have been on the right track, but by now I've been doing this for so long I can't conceive of doing anything else.