Matt Mullican Under Hypnosis
Saturday 27 January 2007, 22.0023.30
Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG
Booking recommended
Call: 44 20 7887 8888
Visit: www.tate.org.uk
American artist Matt Mullican will give a performance while in a state of hypnosis at Tate Modern on Saturday 27 January as part of UBS Openings: Saturday Live, a dynamic and ground-breaking programme of live performances and film at Tate Modern every two months.
Matt Mullican (b. 1951), whose work also includes drawing, sculpture and installation, has been using performance since the 1970s and hypnosis since 1978 to investigate the nature of reality, behaviour and association. His performances under hypnosis deal with questions of who he is and what lies within him and how hypnosis alters his identity in so-called reality.
He has also long been fascinated by the relationship between information and perception as it is filtered through emotive or unconscious associations. The symbols, shapes and repetitive patterns that he paints during these highly concentrated performances focus on such concerns. Mullican likens the focused, deliberate act of artistic creation with the state of trance under hypnosis, since he regards actions and processes of which we are not aware as fundamental for all artistic creative processes.
Although these events are unpredictable by their very nature, painting under hypnosis is often only a part of the performance. In previous events Mullican has interacted with the audience and for this performance furniture and large sheets of paper will be available for the artist to work with.
In his interview with Vicente L. de Moura, professional hypnotist, Mullican states: (.) I feel more like an archaeologist. Im digging into my brain and Im kind of unearthing these states of mind that I dont think are at all alien to everybody else. I think everybody deals with these states of mind but they dont recognise them. They happen too quickly perhaps.
The performance will take place under the bridge in Tate Moderns Turbine Hall and the artist will work mainly in black acrylic paint on large sheets of paper (approximately 2 x 3 metres). He will be hypnotised by a professional hypnotist.
UBS Openings: Saturday Live, Matt Mullican under Hypnosis, is co-curated by Catherine Wood, Curator, Tate (Contemporary Art and Performance) and Marc Pérennès, Independent Live Art Producer. The Arts Council England has provided additional support for this event.
Coming Next in the UBS Openings: Saturday Live series:
Actions and Interruptions
Saturday 10 March 2007, 11.00 21.45
The next UBS Openings: Saturday Live is Actions and Interruptions, a day-long exhibition of live works at Tate Modern, exploring performance that interfere with the visitors normal experience, creating unusual encounters. Some works operate as a form of invisible theatre that blurs the lines between reality and fiction, such as Good Feelings in Good Times 2003/4 by Roman Ondák, a choreographed queue played out by actors.
The programme will feature performance works by Roman Ondák, Dora Garcia, Marie Jan Lund and Nina Jan Beier, Jiri Kovanda and Mario Garcia Torres that will erupt in various locations in the museums public spaces or in the galleries, often at unexpected moments.
For more information log on to www.tate.org.uk or for tickets call 44 20 7887 8888.
UBS Openings: Saturday Live is a new strand of programming at Tate Modern which began in May 2006, presenting live art events, performance and film every two months. Events take place in the Turbine Hall, the Starr Auditorium, Level 2 Café and throughout the main galleries on Levels 3 and 5. The highlight of the programme is UBS Openings: The Long Weekend, an annual four-day festival taking place over the final bank holiday weekend in May.
