Team Gallery | Ryan McGinley | Entrance Romance (it felt like a kiss) | 2010
Art Basel Miami Beach’s Art Video program showcases 22 films by artists like Cory Arcangel, Tracey Emin, Katy Grannan, Christian Jankowski, Mariyn Minter, Ryan McGinley, Rashaad Newsome, Laurel Nakadate, Jennifer Steinkamp, Martha Rosler, and more. Videos and films will be shown in two locations: in pods throughout the fair and at the 7,000 sq. ft. outdoor projection wall at the New World Center’s Soundscape Park. David Gryn, Director of Artprojx's, selected the program for this year's edition of Art Video.
WHITEWALL: How was the Soundscape Park chosen as the location and what kind of atmosphere/viewer experience are you hoping to create?
DAVID GRYN: The New World Center in very impressive and a Miami landmark now. It is virtually next to the show so the logic was in part that and obviously the opportunity to be the first artist video and film projects to be screened on such a massive and impressive scale, and with such great audio visual equipment. Also that the events are free and open to everyone in Miami Beach, as well as the show visitors, matches my ethos. We hope that the audience will come and enjoy, be inspired and touched by something in the one or two hours that they are there.
WW: Art Video will also be shown at five viewing pods inside the Miami Beach Convention Center. Are any of the works for purchase or are the viewing pods seen as a respite from the commercial aspect of the fair?
DG: These were there last year and are designed to create intimate experiences with the works and are placed in a central position offering the art fair crowd moments of reprieve from walking around the fair. The pods also provide collectors with a chance to scrutinize art works they may be interested to purchase, without the gallery having to take up any of their booth space. The screenings at the NWC and the pods are for viewers pleasure, but they are also an intrinsic part of the commercial aspect of the fair - as they are all submitted by galleries selected for the fair and the works are for sale from the galleries at the fair.
WW: Each night has a different theme - Landscape, Americania, Music and Dance, Brief Features, and Painterly. How were these themes selected?
DG: I never think of art thematically. Each night features two of these themes. These simple thematic headings came out of the works submitted by the galleries and it seemed an appropriate way in which to break them into playable sections. Americania for instance was a word conjuring up America and Arcadia, and was inspired initially by the Martha Rosler one-minute film with its powerful simplicity, wit, sadness, and anger mixed with the voyeuristic sexuality in the Laurel Nakadate and the voyeuristic mundane banalities in Jordi Colomer’s work.
WW: Were any of the videos made just for Art Video? Will any of them be being shown in America for the first time?
DG: There are many films that have only been shown in the galleries. Dancer by Dara Friedman, was shot in Miami and has just been made. The Minter is new. The Jankowski trailer was made especially for this project, extracted from his longer film Casting Jesus. Many of the other works have only been seen in the artists’ gallery. The Julier and Eisenring piece has added a soundtrack for this project. And none of the works have ever been seen on such a vast scale.
WW: You're the director of Artprojx, which works with many galleries and institutions to better promote their artists. What are some of the methods of promotion that institutions or venues often overlook?
DG: Collaborative cross-promotion has always brought the projects I involved in most success. The best results come from where all the parties working together believe in the specific project, value it, respect the partner, understand what is individually expected of them and communicate effectively. Enjoying working together is icing on the cake and enhances each project.
WW: You also work with corporations on their engagement with contemporary art. What does a company or brand gain by engaging and associating with an artist?
DG: The company that understands and truly values the arts will benefit from association with it. UBS, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg are my best examples of enlightened companies, who have all benefitted from, and hugely supported, the arts. In each case they have employed arts professionals to lead their patronage, which is vital to understanding the nuances of the art world and maintaining integrity.
WW: Anything in particular that you're looking forward to this year in Miami?
DG: I am looking forward to the Art Salon on the Friday at 2pm at the fair, a conversation with Dara Friedman. Not only because I am involved, but because Dara is a brilliant artist and the 60 dancers in her latest work featured ‘Dancer’ in Art Video, have all been invited and hopefully will join into our discussion. Dara is a Miami-based artist, the dancers are from Miami, and the film was shot on the streets of Miami.
Lisson Gallery | Christian Jankowski | Casting Jesus Trailer | 2011
Galleria Continua | Hans Op de Beeck | Sea of Tranquillity | 2010
Gavin Brown's enterprise | Dara Friedman | Dancer | 2011
