Ryan McNamara
MEƎM 4 Miami: A Story Ballet About the Internet
December 3–4, 2014, 8pm and 10:30pm
A Performa Commission, presented by Art Basel, and produced by Performa and Art Basel
Celebrated contemporary artist Ryan McNamara will stage MEƎM 4 Miami: A Story Ballet About the Internet at the Miami Grand Theater at Castle Beach Resort, the former Playboy theater, during Art Basel’s show in Miami Beach. A choreographic exploration of the online world, the work is a Performa Commission, presented by Art Basel, and produced by Performa and Art Basel.
MEƎM 4 Miami: A Story Ballet About the Internet presents an interpretation of the layered architecture of the internet and the infinite streams of information that pour through its portals onto our laptops and smart phones. Exploring how we share content and process information, McNamara samples and remixes music and movement within an inventively staged environment that reflects the dense layers of our digital landscape. The performance creates a physical analogue of the cluttered nature of the digital realm, and the frequency and speed with which material is copied, created, appropriated, repeated, plagiarized, mined, projected and passed on.
The ballet engages multiple narratives—the internet as a utopic space of unfettered and open global communication and self-creation, as sinister military infrastructure, and as motor for a round-the-clock infotainment culture. A fully immersive experience that questions the very possibility of a singular, individual “experience,” the performance plays with abrupt changes in pacing, music, and choreographic styles—from classical to contemporary—mirroring the close proximity different modes of spectacle now have to one another. Created as a Performa Commission for the 2013 Performa Biennial in New York City, the work premiered to critical acclaim and was awarded the second Malcolm McLaren Award as the most innovative and thought-provoking performance of Performa 13. For its Miami Beach premiere, the artist will debut a new and expanded iteration, incorporating additional performers and content.
For further information and to book tickets, click here.
