Morris and Trasov in the Archive

Morris / Trasov Vancouver, Canada / Berlin, Germany

The Great Learning

Presented by Western Front
Curated by Natalie Loveless
Invited by Natalie Loveless
Western Front, 303 east 8th Ave. http://www.front.bc.ca

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20

8 PM

Location: Western Front

Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov will be staging a “live-archive” performance at the LUX with material from The Morris/Trasov Archive, an extensive collection related to the art practices of Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov predominantly from 1969-74, consisting of mail art, documents and ephemera related to Mr. Peanut, Colour Bars,
Babyland, Art’s Birthday, Decca Dance, Robert Filliou, Ray Johnson, Image Bank, Fluxus, and General Idea. The archive is Morris’ and Trasov’s life work that continues to expand and evolve its own network.

The tentative title for the performance is “The Great Learning”, a title taken from the piece performed by Cornelius Cardew at W.F. in the 1970s. The live performance will incorporate sound, video, computer and spoken words. The performance/presentation will use items from the archive such as the “sharkfin bathing cap” and “the hand of the spirit” to illustrate the ideas of a shared mythology and altered persona and will explore strategies with media and the captivation of the mass media in the ”Mr. Peanut Mayoralty Campaign 1974”.

Michael Morris “My professional career covers over 40 years. I have worked individually and collaboratively in numerous ways but always with the aim of contributing work that is relevant to the ongoing discourse of the role of art practice in relation to culture and society. I like to think of the artist’s role as that of cultural ecologist.”

Vincent Trasov “I am informed and intimate with and contribute to the cultural environment at a time when history is in upheaval. I am continually asking how society functions and why? My work communicates on the personal and communal level, and provokes discourse in the global dialogue.”

http://www.ccca.ca/trasov