Being Sicila by Andrés Jaque at Performa 2021 Biennial

  • Performing arts
  • New York
  • Fri, October 29 —
    Sun, October 31, 2021
  • 6:00 am
Being Sicila by Andrés Jaque at Performa 2021 Biennial

This 45-minute-long meditative sound piece performed at the Top of the Rock examines the complex history of construction in New York.

Being Sicila

  • On October 29 from 6 am to 7 am.
  • On October 30 from 6 am to 7 am.
  • On October 31 from 6 am to 7 am.

In a 45-minute-long meditative sound piece performed for an intimate audience on three consecutive mornings at the Top of the Rock, the Rockefeller Center’s observation deck, architect Andrés Jaque and his Office for Political Innovation will invite spectators to sensorially experience the interconnection of the city and the countryside, buildings and nature.

Set up 850 feet above Fifth Avenue, in this epic achievement of the WPA era that offers sweeping views of Manhattan and its periphery, the performance will examine the complex history of construction in New York. Gathered at dawn, the audience will be invited to “attune” with their environment and study the city’s skyline, from its early skyscrapers downtown to the rise of post-war glass towers and the more recent “pencil towers.” The performance will reveal the complex trail of damage behind technologies of civic beautification, and comprise a sound installation interspersed with conversations with antifracking activists, unpacking the intertwinement of political, economic, and social questions in construction today.

About Andrés Jaque

Architect Andrés Jaque lives and works in New York where he runs the Advanced Architectural Design Program at Columbia University. His architecture firm, Office for Political Innovation, is split between New York and Madrid, and covers a broad cross section of functions, including commercial developments, residential housing, fairs, the redevelopment of public spaces, as well as conceptual projects ranging from videos, live performances, multimedia installations, and exhibitions.

Jaque is currently Chief Curator of the 13th Shanghai Biennale, which was rethought as an incremental exhibition with its final phase opening in spring 2021. His work is part of the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2014, Andrés Jaque received the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale and in 2016, he was awarded with the Frederick Kiesler Architecture and Art Prize.

About Performa 2021 Biennial

Taking place almost entirely outdoors from October 12-31, the ninth edition of the Performa Biennial uses New York City as its backdrop, and feature new live performances by Kevin Beasley, Ericka Beckman, Sara Cwynar, Danielle Dean, Madeline Hollander, Andrés Jaque (Office for Political Innovation), Tschabalala Self, and Shikeith. For the first time in its sixteen-year history, the entire Biennial will be open to the public free of charge.

Venue

Venue map

Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center, entrance on 50th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, New York, NY 10111

Admission

Free

More information

Performa 2021 Biennial New York City

Credits

Supported by Toby Devan Lewis, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, a grant from Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), and the Spanish Cultural Office at the Consulate of Spain in New York City.

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