BE THERE
EnrichmentPresented by Sara Meltzer Gallery November 17, 2007- December 22, 2007Reception: November 17, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmNina KatchadourianSara Meltzer Gallery is pleased to present Enrichment, an exhibition of new works by Nina Katchadourian. Her second show at the gallery continues her longstanding exploration of the human relationship to the natural world. Consisting of two multi-channel video installations and a photographic work, Enrichment In the lingo of animal caretakers, "enrichment" refers to the process of providing a stimulating environment for zoo animals in order to demonstrate their typical behavior and enhance their well-being. The existence of the term is also a tacit acknowledgement of the psychological difficulties animals face in captivity. The gallery’s main space features a 14-channel video installation entitled Zoo. Working with footage shot in eight different zoos worldwide over the past six years, Katchadourian arranges images and sounds to create a zoo-like environment in the gallery space. In the upstairs gallery, a six-channel video entitled Fugitive depicts an orangutan at The National Zoo in Washington D.C. as it swings along cables and travels high above visitors’ heads. In the installation, the footage travels from one TV image to the next, trapping the orangutan in a ring of six monitors as it circulates in a continuous and futile loop. Sharing the space is The Continuum of Cute, a photo-based wall installation that investigates the idea of "cuteness” via pictures of animals found on the Internet. The images are arranged from left to right in a spectrum ranging from the extremely "uncute" to the extremely cute, passing through intermediary or combinatory states in between. The artist and Sara Meltzer Gallery give special thanks to Location 1 International Residency Program, New York, NY and the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY. Also opening Saturday, November 17 is Office Semaphore, installed on the terrace of the gallery at 525-531 West 26 Street. Originally installed at One Chase Manhattan Plaza as part of Public Art Fund's In the Public Realm program, the tourist-inspired telescope was focused on an office window in a building a few blocks away. The reactivated Office Semaphore will focuse on the office window of award-winning architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, located in the landmark Starrett-Lehigh building. Working with DS+R to select objects found in their office, Katchadourian's Office Semaphore works with the syntax and semantics of antiquated marine signaling technologies in order to create a system of communication in a contemporary context.
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