MAY 2 – JUNE 30, 2018
8 SESSION-EXPERIMENTS WITH LI-E CHEN
6 ASSEMBLAGES
23 CONTRIBUTORS
Li-E Chen’s One Year Research and Development: A Silent Opera on the Life and Art of Tehching Hsieh
12 September 2017 - 12 September 2018
CONTRIBUTORS:
Ezequiel Steinman (Dramaturge/Multidisciplinary Artist)
Miguel Ballarin (Choreographer)
Orlando Cela (Music Director/Conductor)
Stewart Melton (Writer/Dramaturge/Director)
Christina Marriage (Curator)
Seta White (Actor/Director/Opera Director)
Tanya Sharick (Artist)
Maria Teresa Ortoleva (Visual Artist)
Andrea Abbatangelo (Artist/Sculptor)
Delea Stand (Singer)
Angeliki Margeti (Choreographer)
Yanaelle Thiran (Choreographer)
Eline Vandeheede (Singer)
Jessica Hung Yun (Lighting Designer)
Claudia Contu (Curator)
James Oldham (Composer/Director/Devising Artist)
Clay Gold (Writer/Sound Artist)
Ernst Fischer (Artist)
Lynn-Marie Harper (Writer/Choreographer)
Eleni Tomadaki- Balomenou (Artist)
Megan Armitage (Musician)
Gavin Fernades (Violinist/Conductor/Composer), and
Emma Ingala Gómez (Professor of Philosophy)
ARTIST, CONCEPT, DIRECTION:
Li-E Chen
PROJECT COORDINATOR:
Hannah Grace Whittaker
PHOTO BY
Paul Whitlock
Hannah Grace Whittaker
My inspiration for the work is based on my initial response to the documentation posters and associated statements of Tehching Hsieh’s five
One Year Performance carried out
between 1978-1986 ('Cage Piece', 'Time Clock Piece', 'Outdoor Piece', 'Art/Life Rope Piece', 'No Art Piece') and Tehching Hsieh: 1986-1999 ('Thirteen Year Plan'). I aim to bring the concepts behind Hsieh’s lifeworks to a silent opera.
‘The word opera means work if you go back to the Latin. It was the beginning.’ (Robert Wilson). It is also the plural form of ‘opus’ which is Latin for work, labour, a work. I am interested in bringing contributors’ different perspectives on and responses to Hsieh’s work of 'no-work' for further development of the project. To consider opera from the beginning where there is no creativity, no productivity and no innovation. Where and how do we begin from here? The project is not responding to Hsieh's biography, nor focusing on selected records of his conceptual documentations. I am looking at Hsieh’s lifework as one piece of life durational performance. “Life is a life sentence, life is passing time, life is free thinking.” (Tehching Hsieh)
“Expanding the possibilities.”
“Looking through the eyes of the artist to see life. ”
“I want to spend more work (time) on things.”
“Becoming is an event, movement is passing in time and space. Becoming is not movement.”
“Relationships”
“Désoeuvrement”
“The invisible museum is opened to you when you have opened yourself to discovery. It is a state of being.”
“Art should make up for what’s not working in life. Shouldn’t be boring – we are enough bored already.”
– from Contributors
"8 Session-Experiments with Li-E Chen"
May - June 2018
Watch our 1 min video HERE
Read more about
One Year R&D: A Silent Opera on the Life and Art of Tehching Hsieh
Session 1: Dramaturgy on the lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh
4 May 2018 at Senate House, London
Assemblage six: [Thirteen Year Plan] Tehching Hsieh: Tehching Hsieh 1986 - 1999
Li-E with Stewart, Seta, Nina and Claudia.
Session 2: Invisible museum on the lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh
11 May 2018 at TATE MODERN's Tehching Hsieh: One Year Performance 1980 - 1981
Assemblage two: [No Art Piece] Tehching Hsieh: One Year Performance 1985 - 1986
Li-E with Maria-Teresa, Tanya, Eleni, Megan and Nina.
Session 3: Movement on the lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh
18 May 2018 at Senate House, London
Assemblage one: [Cage Piece] Tehching Hsieh: One Year Performance 1978 - 1979
Li-E with Angeliki, Yanaelle, Ernst and Seta.
Session 4: Music on the lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh
25 May 2018 at TATE MODERN's Tehching Hsieh: One Year Performance 1980 - 1981
Assemblage four: [Time Clock Piece] Tehching Hsieh: One Year Performance 1980 - 1981
Li-E with James, Clay, Gavin and Andrea.
Session 5: Voice on the lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh
1 June 2018 at Tate Modern, London
Assemblage four: [Rope Piece] Tehching Hsieh: Art/Life One Year Performance 1983 - 1984
Li-E with Delea and Eline.
Session 6: Sculpture on the lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh
9 June 2018 at Tate Modern's Tehching Hsieh: One Year Performance 1980 - 1981, London
Assemblage three: [Outdoor Piece] Tehching Hsieh: One Year Performance 1981 - 1982
Li-E with Andrea, Stewart and Lynn-Marie.
Session 7: Lighting on the lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh
15 June 2018 at Senate House, London
Assemblage one: [Cage Piece] Tehching Hsieh: One Year Performance 1978 - 1979
Li-E with Jessica.
Session 8: Dramaturge, Music and Movement on the lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh
2 May - 30 June 2018 via Skype with Li-E Chen: lihappyday11
Assemblage one to six: Tehching Hsieh Lifeworks 1978 - 1999
Li-E with Ezequiel, Miguel, Orlando and Emma.