Day Labor

(Long Island City, New York – August 16, 2005) P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is pleased to present Day Labor, a group exhibition featuring works by eighteen international artists, from Croatia, France, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Turkey, the Netherlands and the United States. Using various media, including photography and video, the artists explore the ways in which cultural identity and bodily perception are driven and socially conditioned by the global economy and the media. Day Labor is on view from October 30, 2005 through January 9, 2006.

The exhibition examines society’s obsession with the notion of “becoming,” as well as the libidinal or visceral aspects of the labor trade. From day laborer to pop star, from paramilitary leader to corporate giant, the global economy is continually churning out labels, brands and archetypes. Many of the artists in Day Labor challenge these social constructs by inserting themselves into the public domain. Some recreate situations in the workforce as a means to comment on the brutality, inequity and the absurdity of the marketplace. In revealing the various aspects of the labor trade and the attendant values placed on race, gender, class, and body type, Day Labor will examine market values and economic barometers, immigration, global tourism, corporate culture and high culture status.

Artists in Day Labor include: Can Altay (b. 1975 Ankara, Turkey, lives and works In Ankara); Alex Bag (b. New York City, lives and works in Jersey City); Tamy Ben-tor (b. 1975 Jerusalem, Israel, lives and works in New York); Daniel Bozhkov (b. 1968 Aytos, Bulgaria, lives and works in New York); Esra Ersen (b. 1970 Ankara, Turkey, lives and works in Istanbul); Jonah Freeman (b. 1975 Santa Fe, New Mexico, lives and works in Brooklyn); Coco Fusco (b. 1960 New York, lives and works in New York); Christy Gast (b. 1976 Coldwater, Ohio, lives and works in Brooklyn); Ignacio Gonzalez-Lang (b. 1975 San Juan, Puerto Rico, lives and works in New York); Matthieu Laurette (b. 1970 Villeneuve St. Georges, France, lives and works in Paris and New York); Daniel Lefcourt (b. 1975, New York City, lives and works in Brooklyn); Will Kwan (b. 1978 Hong Kong, lives and works in Maastricht, The Netherlands and New York); Andreja Kuluncic (b. 1968 Subotica, Yugoslavia, lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia); Yoshua Okon (b. 1970 Mexico City, Mexico, lives and works in Mexico City and Los Angeles); Nira Pereg (b. 1969 Tel Aviv, Israel, lives and works in Tel Aviv and Germany); Mika Rottenberg (b. 1976 Buenos Aires, Argentina, lives and works in New York); Hank Willis Thomas (b. 1976 New York, lives and works in San Francisco); and Aaron Young (b. 1972 San Francisco, California, lives and works in New York).

Day Labor is curated by P.S.1 Curator Amy Smith-Stewart.

Pressetext

Day Labor
Kurator Amy Smith-Stewart

mit Can Altay, Alex Bag, Tamy Ben-tor, Daniel Bozhkov, Esra Ersen, Jonah Freeman, Coco Fusco, Christy Gast, Ignacio Gonzalez-Lang, Matthieu Laurette, Daniel Lefcourt, Will Kwan, Andreja Kuluncic, Yoshua Okon, Nira Pereg, Mika Rottenberg, Hank Willis Thomas, Aaron Young, u.a.