Opening reception Saturday, March 29th. 4 to 6 p.m.
Open daily thereafter, Monday through Saturday 12:00 noon to 5:30pm. Closed Sundays.
On view until May 17th, 2003.

About

An Installation by Anne Beffel

Curated by Aaron Slodounik

At CUCHIFRITOS art gallery/project space.

About statement:

Artist Anne Beffel will layer the floor of Cuchifritos's small corner gallery space with several hundred discarded gum wrappers reclaimed over the course of many years from urban landscapes across the United States. While typically unassuming, the silver gum wrappers in this installation possess the subtle luster of light, having been transfigured by their decay. In this contemplative setting, viewers can sit and listen to three recordings that explore the metaphoric content of the wrappers under consideration. The journey taken in assembling her collection, as chronicled on the accompanying audio, was a meditative process in which the discovery of each wrapper became a moment of self-reflection and release. By allowing viewers to examine the diverse array of wrappers while simultaneously listening to the sound of poetic repetition, the artist facilitates a process of contemplation that is parallel to her own form of meditation. Her use of discarded materials, mediated by the gestures of hundreds of individuals, and vivid spoken imagery conveys an experience rooted in a broader societal context. Beffel's minimalist configuration is not simply a removed, direct phenomenological experience. Her work explains that a greater consciousness does not need be reserved for a specific time or locale, but can be achieved daily through introspection. Beffel has transcended the psychological compulsion that underlies her own pursuit to demonstrate how an activity that is outside of social norms can become a path towards greater self-awareness.

This exhibit was made possible in part by the Fund for Creative Communities/NYSCA, administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and by the generosity of The New york City Economic Development Corporation, the Puffin Foundation, and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation.