MPA: Red In View
Whitney Museum of American Art
Nov 11, 2016–Feb 27, 2017
MPA (b. 1980), Entrance, 2014–2016 (left). Pigmented inkjet print mounted on mat board and painted wood, 7 x 7 in. (17.8 x 17.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Higher Pictures. Surrender, 2014–2016 (right). Pigmented inkjet print mounted on mat board and painted wood, 7 x 7 in. (17.8 x 17.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Higher Pictures
"Looking at Mars, this imagined space, reflects most humans back to Earth."
—MPA
Since relocating to California's Mojave desert in 2013, artist MPA (b. 1980; Redding, CA) has been immersed in a broad inquiry into the potential colonization of Mars, often known as the red planet. In this multi-part exhibition the artist looks at Mars as a place for settlement and a resource for our own planet, as well as a site of possible human origin. MPA’s research considers unconventional sources such as mythology, psychic accounts, and personal narratives, as credible authorities. By reflecting more generally on histories of colonization, RED IN VIEW raises questions of militarism and patriarchy, prompting us to examine our own, often subconscious, colonizing behaviors.
RED IN VIEW unfolds in four movements throughout the Museum. The exhibition begins in the lobby gallery and extends to the theater in February for a culminating performance. Over the course of ten continuous days, MPA and artists Amapola Prada and Elizabeth Marcus-Sonenberg perform Orbit, living in the narrow space between the windowpanes of the theater. The space becomes a biosphere: an enclosed, self-sustaining habitat, modeled after an environment where the first settlers on Mars might reside.
RED IN VIEW is organized by Jay Sanders and Greta Hartenstein with Allie Tepper
Exhibition Movements
I. Prelude
November 11, December 9, and January 13, 7–9:30 pm, Lobby and Lobby Gallery
A periodic live appearance in the gallery by two Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos.
II. The Interview
November 11–February 27, Lobby Gallery
The interview is active. You are invited to pick up the phone.
III. Orbit
February 9–19, Floor Three, Hess Family Theater
Beginning on February 9, artists MPA, Amapola Prada, and Elizabeth Marcus-Sonenberg enter Orbit, a continuous ten-day performance staged in the narrow space between the windowpanes of the Whitney’s theater, overlooking the Hudson River. The enclosed environment—which includes a composting toilet, plants, a ten-day supply of food and water, basic bedding, a treadmill, instruments, and a three-camera video surveillance system—is inspired by the simulation projects conducted by universities and space agencies to test human life on spacecrafts and on Mars. The participants’ conditions partially emulate those of astronauts orbiting Earth: sleeping in scheduled rotations, receiving messages on a delay, exercising daily, and tracking their energy usage.
IV. Assembly
February 19, 8 pm, Floor Three, Hess Family Theater Tickets required
The dramatic finale of Orbit. Ending on a dissonant chord, this theatrical event marks the Orbiters’ exit, and orchestrates a culminating series of actions within a live environment by M. Cay Castagnetto (sound) and Maria Shaplin (lighting).
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Related writing and press
Orbit Log: Observations from Ground Control (by Allie Tepper and Greta Hartenstein)
Artforum
Vice
BOMB Magazine
