A Book About Death, Wales
Launches 18 October at the RCA UA Wales
For Immediate Release
Royal Cambrian Academy
Crown Lane, Conwy, Wales,LL32 8AN United Kingdom
CONTACT FOR MEDIA:
Sonja Benskin-Mesher RCA UA, Wales, Curator
Email: sonja@sonja-benskin-mesher.com Tel: 07411 455775
WALES, UK – A Book About Death, the most recent in a series of
exhibitions
on the subject of death, launches in Wales, UK at the Royal
Cambrian Academy
18 October, 2014.
Curated by artist Sonja Benskin-Mesher, ABAD Wales is the 28th staging
of the
global project launched in New York in September 2009. Since then
the project,
a world wide mail art exhibition on the subject of death, has been
shown in varying forms
in Brazil, Mexicali, Los Angeles, Bosnia Herzagovnia,
Treviso, Australia and across
the United States, among other venues.
A Book About Death Wales will feature more than 400 works of art sent
to the RCA
from nearly every corner of the planet; in addition, the archival
New York City exhibition
at the Emily Harvey Foundation will also be on view –
487 works, as well as the dozen
or so original posters from the first show.
The Royal Cambrian Academy is delighted to host ABAD Wales in
conjunction with its ‘Art+Book’ exhibition.
“It’s exciting for the Academy to be able to provide another link in
the ABAD chain as
the concept evolves and travels worldwide,” said RCA
Vice-President Ann Lewis.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for visitors
to the gallery to view artwork by artists
from all over the world under one
roof. I would like to thank Matthew Rose, and in
particular Sonja Benskin-Mesher
for the hours of work, energy and effort she’s put into bringing this
exhibition together.”
“This is the second time, I have curated A Book about Death, Wales,”
explains BenskinMesher. “Yet I cannot overcome my strong feelings for the
project which is
humbling in its simplicity. The reactions from others,
especially the artists, are honest, generous, with many baring all in their
work sent to the exhibition. I have not experienced such a project that shares
so much, asks so little, brings so much to the participants,
the audience and
the world.”
But the art works, in the form of handmade post cards (usually 4 x 6
inches) are not
all dark, many are even funny, notes BenskinMesher, “like the
one about man who was buried wearing his new false teeth, or the poignant and
honest piece of a small boy who drew his dead rabbit.” The quality of the
work is extremely high and that points to a project that continues to evolve
and attract interested and interesting artists from as far away as China and Brazil.
The exhibition is first for the RCA Conwy, which normally exhibitions
academic works
and/or juried shows, and rarely exhibits unframed pieces.
ABAD Wales will invite the
public to hang the works on 18 October in a
community effort to get involved in an
exhibition that might normally feel
“hands off.” Benskin-Mesher is, she insists,
“a very hands on curator.”
History of the ABAD Project
Launched in New York in 2009 at The Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery
by artist
Matthew Rose, the project soon took off across the planet. The
call based based on
an opportunity to work some magic in a particularly
important art space in New York,
says Rose.
“The gallery was always
Fluxus oriented, thanks to the late art dealer Emily Harvey.
I thought I
could bring together a ‘book’ by mail art genius Ray Johnson – his A Book
About
Death – and pay homage to Ray and Emily and all the artists and more around
the
world in a powerful exhibition.” That show was attended by several thousand
people,
all the work (artists submitted 500 printed or hand made postcard works
each) was
exhibited and given away free.
“Viewers to the exhibition were encouraged to gather up their own
book by selected
a work from boxes on the floor,” says Rose. “It was very
taxing to do so and took about
an hour,” but that’s how the works – the limited
edition books – were distributed.”
Those complete ABAD books are now in
the hands of about 100 artists, curators,
collectors, and in the permanent
collections of MoMA NYC, LACMA, (LA California and several art colleges), such
as The Otis College of Art and Design, in LA, CA.
One copy will be on
view at the RCA Conwy.
Since the 2009 exhibition more than 5000 artists have participated in
the ABAD project
and many have become curators themselves of the
exhibition. For the São Paulo
exhibition at MUBE in Brazil, artist Angela
Ferrera “curated” the NYC show with a beautiful music video as well as the
museum exhibition. Ferrara’s ABAD video,
along with others, and additional information about the ABAD project including posters
and a full catalog of the works are viewable here:
http://abookaboutdeath.blogspot.com
along with others, and additional information about the ABAD project including posters
and a full catalog of the works are viewable here:
http://abookaboutdeath.blogspot.com
History of the ABAD Wales Project
“When I saw the artist call from Matthew Rose circulating on the
Internet for a work
about death, I didn’t think I had anything to contribute,”
recalls BenskinMesher.
“But then something stirred and I create a work
‘the empty chair.’ That artist project continued and the ABAD project
became a phenomena, and I carried on with the works combining it with curating
the exhibitions here in Wales. It is an exhilarating and moving challenge.”Wales first showed ABAD, as it is known fondly known by participants, at
MOMA in Macynlleth in 2010.
This year The Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy, Wales has agreed to host the next chapter in October 2014. “The project,” adds BenskinMesher, “has become in some strange and wonderful way, A Book About Living.”
This year The Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy, Wales has agreed to host the next chapter in October 2014. “The project,” adds BenskinMesher, “has become in some strange and wonderful way, A Book About Living.”
For more information, images and downloadables from the project,
please see:
A Book About Death, Wales:
http://abookaboutdeathwales.wordpress.com/
A Book About Death, Wales:
http://abookaboutdeathwales.wordpress.com/
