AnthonyTsai
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Audemars Piguet Announces art program for Art Basel Miami 2014 with artist Theo Jansen
In its second year as a global Associate Partner of Art Basel, Haute Horlogerie Manufacture Audemars Piguet is delighted to announce a partnership with the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts to bring Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests to Art Basel in Miami Beach.
Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests land at Art Basel in Miami Beach
Special presentation by Audemars Piguet and the Peabody Essex Museum
Dutch artist’s famed kinetic sculptures rove the beach in Miami Beach
3-7 December 2014
Event previews 2015-16 national tour of Strandbeest exhibition
From 4-7 December 2014, a clutch of Strandbeests, each with unique characteristics and histories, will inhabit a prominent stretch of the beach in Miami Beach. Daily, visitors will be able to meet Jansen as he leads his larger-than-life, wind-powered creatures in demonstrations along the beach. An accompanying installation features Jansen’s newest Strandbeests, including the 42-foot-long Animaris Suspendisse, as well as a reproduction of Theo Jansen’s workshop on the beach and an exhibition of Lena Herzog’s photographs of the Strandbeests. This will be complementing Audemars Piguet’s watch exhibition in the Collectors’ Lounge at Art Basel’s 2014 shows, where the brand’s stand was designed by leading French designer Mathieu Lehanneur.
Jansen’s renaissance imagination roams freely between the realms of art and science. Possessing an uncanny life-like locomotion, his Strandbeests (“beach animals”) are intricately constructed from PVC tubes, which Jansen refers to as his “artistic protein.” Through 25 years of experimentation and development on the Dutch seacoast, Jansen’s Strandbeests have evolved from rudimentary structures to complex creatures that are able to autonomously respond to environmental conditions by storing wind power, changing direction when they sense water and anchoring themselves during oncoming storms. Each year, Jansen increases the capacity of his Strandbeests to interact and adapt, clearing new hurdles for their sustained survival on the beach.
Jansen’s alternative life forms, with their complex mechanical motions, mirror the precision and technological mastery at the heart of Audemars Piguet’s tradition of watchmaking. Jansen’s creations are constantly updated and taken to new levels of innovation, just as the Swiss watchmaker remains at the forefront of haute horlogerie and is responsible for a number of world firsts in the industry. Providing a compliment to Audemars Piguet’s legacy of integrating creative vision with superb artistry, the Strandbeests illustrate Jansen’s idea that “the walls between art and engineering exist only in the mind”.
The presentation at Art Basel in Miami Beach previews the first major U.S. tour of Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests organized by the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM). Beginning in September 2015, the exhibition tour will debut at PEM and make anticipated stops in Chicago, San Francisco and New York City. Learn more at: pem.org
Alongside Theo Jansen’s work on the beach, Audemars Piguet will also present a selection of exceptional historic and contemporary timepieces in the Collectors’ Lounge of Art Basel in Miami Beach, together with live demonstrations of the watchmaker’s craft. The concept for their 2014 lounge “MINERAL LAB” was created by leading French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and first unveiled at Art Basel in Hong Kong 2014. “MINERAL LAB” brings the captivating landscape of the Vallée de Joux, the home of Audemars Piguet, which has played such a key part in the brand's legacy of craftsmanship to Art Basel’s 13th edition in Miami Beach. “MEASURE”, a striking new panoramic film exploring the Vallée de Joux by Austrian video artist Kurt Hentschläger will also be on display in the lounge.
Commenting on this presentation, Olivier Audemars, Board Member and great-grandson of one of the company founders, said: “We are delighted to be working with Theo Jansen to present his amazing Strandbeests at Art Basel in Miami Beach this year. Jansen’s pursuit of technical perfection and ability to break the boundaries between art and engineering captures the constant dialogue existing between both fields, and this constant interaction lies at the heart of Audemars Piguet’s spirit of independence. We are also pleased to be presenting Mathieu Lehanneur’s innovative lounge design, alongside Kurt Hentschläger’s beautiful film again at Art Basel in Miami Beach 2014.”
Dan L. Monroe, PEM’s Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Director and CEO, noted: “PEM is dedicated to creating art and cultural experiences that materially impact people’s lives by expanding their view of themselves and the wider world. As a museum, we are particularly interested in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary forms of creative expression. Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests beautifully express how working at the intersection of fields can give rise to emotionally evocative and innovative art forms.”
Artist Theo Jansen said: ‘Wind ... wind … wind … if you repeat the word ‘wind’ often enough, it will start blowing.’
‘The Strandbeests have captivated a global audience and interest in them has grown at a viral rate. It is with great anticipation and excitement that the Strandbeests will be making their U.S. debut. I’m pleased to be working with Audemars Piguet and PEM to create such an extraordinary welcome for the Strandbeests in advance of their national tour.’
This program is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.
Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet is the oldest fine watchmaking manufacturer still in the hands of its founding families (Audemars and Piguet). Since 1875, the company has written some of the finest chapters in the history of haute horlogerie, including a number of world firsts. In the Vallée de Joux, at the heart of the Swiss Jura, numerous masterpieces are created in limited series embodying a remarkable degree of horological perfection, including daring sporty models, classic and traditional timepieces, splendid ladies’ jewellery-watches, as well as one-of-a-kind creations. The famous 1972 octagonal Royal Oak, the first luxury watch to be made of stainless steel, is widely recognised as one of the most important innovations in watchmaking.
Audemars Piguet and Art
Audemars Piguet has always sought to integrate creative vision with superb artistry and technical mastery. There are many parallels between contemporary art and the artistry, craft, technical mastery and innovative approach at the heart of Audemars Piguet’s timepieces. In 2013, Audemars Piguet extended its innovation and spirit of independence by becoming a global associate partner of Art Basel, the world’s premier contemporary art fair. For the Art Basel 2013 shows, Audemars Piguet commissioned new work by British photographer Dan Holdsworth and worked with Galerie Perrotin on ‘Curiosity’, a pop-up installation by French art duo Kolkoz for Art Basel in Miami Beach. At Art Basel’s May 2014 show in Hong Kong, Audemars Piguet unveiled a new booth in the Collectors’ Lounge created by leading French designer Mathieu Lehanneur as well as a new panoramic film by Austrian video artist Kurt Hentschläger. Evolving with each new location, Lehanneur’s lounge concept will be presented at Art Basel’s shows in 2014 and 2015. In May 2014, Audemars Piguet announced the Audemars Piguet Art Commission as a key piece in their expanding activities in the sphere of contemporary art. For Art Basel in Miami Beach 2014, Audemars Piguet will present Dutch artist Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests.
About Art Basel
Art Basel stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and contemporary works, sited in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. In addition to ambitious stands featuring leading galleries from around the globe, each show’s singular exhibition sectors spotlight the latest developments in the visual arts, offering visitors new ideas, new inspiration, and new contacts in the art world. Please visit artbasel.com for additional information.
About Theo Jansen
Theo Jansen first came to public attention in 1980 when he flew a "UFO" across the skies of Delft, Holland, and for the past 20 years, has been creating Strandbeests. Jansen has spoken at multiple TED Conferences, and been profiled by The New Yorker. His work has been shown extensively in Asia and Europe.
About Lena Herzog
Lena Herzog is a Russian American photographer. Her work has been featured and reviewed in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Paris Review, Harper’s Magazine, Cabinet Magazine and many others. She is the author of several books of photography and her work has been internationally exhibited.
About the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM)
The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) is one of the oldest and fastest growing museums in North America. At its heart is a mission to enrich and transform people’s lives by broadening their perspectives, attitudes and knowledge of themselves and the wider world. PEM celebrates outstanding artistic and cultural creativity through exhibitions, programming and special events that emphasize cross-cultural connections, integrate past and present and underscore the vital importance of creative expression. Founded in 1799, the museum’s collection is among the finest of its kind boasting superlative works from around the globe and across time –– including American art and architecture, Asian export art, photography, maritime art and history, as well as Native American, Oceanic and African art. PEM’s campus affords a varied and unique visitor experience with hands-on creativity zones, interactive opportunities, performance spaces and historic properties, including Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese House, a 200 year old house that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture on display in the United States.
About Mathieu Lehanneur
Mathieu Lehanneur is a French designer at the forefront of the international design scene. Innovatively, he combines design, science, art and technology as poetic-communicative components to create humanistic projects and achieve maximum welfare for human beings.
Graduated from ENSCI-Les Ateliers |'École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle, his works are part of the permanent collections at the MoMa (New York/US), Centre Pompidou (Paris/FR), SFMoMa (San Francisco/US), the foundation of contemporary art Frac Ile de France (Paris/FR) and Design Museum (Gent/Belgium).
Mathieu Lehanneur also designs for brands such as Veuve Clicquot, Issey Miyake, Christofle, Cartier, Poltrona Frau, among others, with the same proficiency as he creates spectacular projects for Saint Hilaire Church (Melle/France), the Diaconesses Hospital (Paris/FR), or the new hotspot of the Parisian scene, Electric.
About Kurt Hentschläger
Chicago based Austrian artist Kurt Hentschläger creates audiovisual performances and installations. He began to exhibit his work in 1983, and since has been working predominantly with time-based media, light and sound. His current work continues to investigate human perception and the impact of new technologies on both individual and collective consciousness.
Selected presentations include the Venice Biennale, the Venice Theater Biennale, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Fondation Beyeler Basel, PS1 New York, Creative Time, Inc. New York, MAC - Musée d'Art Contemporain Montreal, MAK - Museum of Applied Arts Vienna, National Art Museum of China Beijing, National Museum for Contemporary Art Seoul, ICC Tokyo, Arte Alameda Mexico City, MONA – Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania.
In 2012 he was commissioned as part of the Cultural Program of the 2012 London Olympics / London Festival to create CORE, a symphonic installation in an industrial age machine hall. He is currently a full time Visiting Artist at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2014-09-19 10:50:37
