TRUST ME, an Art Project by GEMA ALAVA
Documented by JASON SCHMIDT
With the participation of
ELLEN FISHER, MAYRAV FISHER, JONATHAN GOODMAN, JESSICA HIGGINS, ERIKA KAWALEK, ERIKA KNERR, ALISON KNOWLES, FERRAN MARTIN, J. MORRISON, GORDON SASAKI, and J.G. ZIMMERMAN.
MEDIA: Performance, Dialogue and Photograph
MATERIALS: Variable
DURATION: Eleven performances during 9 hours
PROCESS:
On May 14th, 2010, Gema Alava met individually in one of two museums with eleven participants who responded to her open call. Participants agreed to wear opaque glasses during the time Alava performed one-on-one verbal descriptions of artworks they could not see. Photographer Jason Schmidt was invited to document TRUST ME.
TRUST ME’s participants include visual artists, performers, a poet, the director of the education department of a major art museum, writers, an art critic, a museum educator and a MFA student. They described their experiences as “magical”, “a heightened of the senses”, “rebirth”, “entering a different world”, “seeing without seeing”, “all about trust”, “mind opening” and “something everubody should experience at least once in their life time”
On October 15th, 2010, at 6PM at the CERVANTES INSTITUTE in NEW YORK, 211 East 49 Street, during a post-performance event, Trust Me’s participants will meet each other and see for the first time photographs taken by Schmidt during their individual walk-through with Alava.
SPECIAL THANKS TO ARTIST ORGANIZED ART AND TO THE MANY PEOPLE WHO RESPONDED TO TRUST ME’S OPEN CALL.
TRUST ME PRESENTATION HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO THE SUPPORT OF THE GENERAL CONSULATE OF SPAIN IN NEW YORK
CREDIT: “TRUST ME:GEMA ALAVA. PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASON SCHMIDT.”
COPYRIGHT 2010. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ARTICLES ON THIS PIECE
Hernandez, Mitzi, “Una Performance basada en la confianza.” NCI NOTICIAS TELEVISION, 11/18/2010
Simian, Jose Manuel, “Trust Me: Transmitiendo arte a partir de palabras.” CONTRAPORTADA. NY1 TELEVISION
Goodman, Jonathan, “Gema Alava: Un Mundo Atrevido.” /FronteraD, 30/9/2010 (Español)
Goodman, Jonathan, “Gema Alava: Brave New World.” /FronteraD 30/9/2010 (English)
Soriano, Nieves “Gema Alava: Trust Me en Manifesta 8.” Desde Paris a Buenos Aires 11/6/2010
EUROPA PRESS, “La artista Gema Álava nueva residente no visual del proyecto colectivo danés Wooloo en Manifesta 8” 11/5/2010
HOY ES ARTE.COM, “Gema Alava en Manifesta 8.” 11/1/2010