20
May/14

TONY OURSLER: VOX VERNACULAR

20
May/14

vox-vernacular-e1400625264867

PERFORMANCE ARTS SERIES
New York Public Library
Stephen A. Schwartzman Building
South Court Auditorium
Fifth Ave. at 42nd St.
Wednesday, May 21, free, 6:00
www.nypl.org
www.yalepress.yale.edu

For more than thirty years, multimedia installation artist Tony Oursler has been creating eye-catching works that examine unique aspects of the human experience, often involving videos projected onto miniature environments and larger-scale sculptures. The new book Tony Oursler / Vox Vernacular (Yale, February 25, $65) takes a look at a different side of the native New Yorker, focusing on the language and text that accompanies his pieces — for example, “L7-L5,” “Spillchamber,” “Lock 2,4,6” and “The Influence Machine” — which often play out like tiny dramas. On May 21, a group of his friends will gather at the South Court Auditorium at the New York Public Library for a performance and book launch, with Tony Conrad, Constance DeJong, Jim Fletcher, Joe Gibbons, Kim Gordon, Josie Keefe, Tracy Leipold, Brandon Olson, Jason Scott, and Holly Stanton presenting transcripts from Tony Oursler / Vox Vernacular, bringing these works, dating from 1977 to 2013, to life in a new, poetic way, accompanied by video clips. After the event, Oursler will sign copies of the book, which also includes two hundred illustrations (190 in color) and contributions by Laurent Busine and Denis Gielen of the Musée des Arts Contemporains au Grand-Hornu and Billy Rubin. This one-night-only free event should offer a fascinating perspective on one of the art world’s most consistently inventive and entertaining creators.