Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah

El Museo del Barrio is pleased to present Methuselah, a digital artwork conceived by the Cuban-born and Houston based artist Reynier Leyva Novo. Commissioned by El Museo with the support of VIA Art Fund, Methuselah virtually reproduces the 6000-mile transnational migratory journey of a single monarch butterfly, tracking its travel from southern Canada across the United States to Mexico. Embodied through the life of a virtual avatar, the epic journey is hosted and reproduced in real time on a specially designed, open-access, dedicated website. To access site, visit here.

Methuselah launches to the public on September 22 at 7pm EST, coinciding with the Fall equinox and the start of the monarch’s migration. Beginning on this date, viewers can observe the virtual avatar 24 hours a day, as it makes its way south across changing terrain, weather patterns, and other variable physical conditions. To celebrate, Novo will join curator Olga Viso in an online conversation and project demonstration moderated by El Museo organizing curator Susanna V. Temkin. Virtual event; free and open to the public. 

Opening October 27 at El Museo del Barrio in conjunction with Juan Francisco Elso: Por América, Methuselah will be presented as an in-person, mixed reality installation. Using holographic lenses, visitors will be able to observe and experience the monarch’s movements and behavior in a shared environment, where they can follow the butterfly as it flies around them. Up to three visitors are permitted to experience Methuselah at a time, with reservations required (first-come, first-serve; must be made on-site, the day of your visit).

In tracing the monarch’s flight across the Americas, Methusaleh addresses larger contemporary issues related to migration, climate change, and the necessity of transnational cooperation, as expressed in the life of  a singular specimen. Calling attention to the false security of borders, the artwork offers a critical metaphor for twenty-first-century existence, made all the more poignant by the monarch’s recent categorization as an endangered species.

Community
A community of art museums, research centers, and cultural institutions in North America have joined in partnership to support Methuselah and bring greater awareness to the inspiring life cycle of monarch butterflies. These more than 20 international cultural organizations (and growing) include Americas Society, ​New York​; ASU Art Museum, Arizona; ASU Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center, Arizona; Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada; Ballroom Marfa, Texas; Desert Botanical Garden, Arizona; High Museum of Art, Georgia; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.; International Center for the Arts of the Americas / Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas; MIT List Visual Arts Center, Massachusetts; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Tennessee; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada; Museo Jumex, Mexico; Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, MUAC, UNAM, Mexico; Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Florida; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Missouri; New York Botanical Garden, New York; Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona; Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; and Seattle Art Museum, Washington.

About Reynier Leyva Novo
Reynier Leyva Novo (b. 1983, Havana, Cuba, and based in Houston, Texas) is one of Cuba’s leading conceptual artists. Novo’s practice challenges ideology and symbols of power, questioning an individual’s ability to affect change. His multidisciplinary practice includes mining historical data and official documents, the content of which he transforms into formally minimalist and conceptually charged sculptures and multimedia installations. 

Sponsors
Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah is commissioned by El Museo del Barrio through the generous support of VIA Art Fund. The project is presented in relation Juan Francisco Elso: Por América, which is possible thanks to major support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support is provided by Tony Bechara; Celso Gonzalez-Falla; Craig Robins; Steven and Judy Shank, and John Thomson. Commissions are made possible by VIA Art Fund and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation. Supported in part with public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the NYC Council.