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Ryan McNamara
Misty Malarky Ying Yang
Beginning on the High Line at Gansevoort Street
October 8, 2014
6:30 PM
High Line Art presents Misty Malarky Ying Yang, a new performance by artist Ryan McNamara that celebrates the 35th anniversary of President Jimmy Carter’s famous 1979 “Malaise Speech.” Taking place July 15 – 17, 2014, each performance will begin at 7:30 PM at the south end of the High Line at Gansevoort Street, from which it will wind northward along the High Line towards West 30th Street.
Ryan McNamara is an artist known for transforming spaces into immersive experiences. For the High Line, the artist and a group of performers will use President Jimmy Carter’s famous “Malaise Speech” as the point of departure for a choreographed spectacle. On July 15, 1979, Carter addressed the nation in a televised speech concerning the ongoing energy crisis. In what became known as the “Malaise Speech,” the President described America’s “crisis of confidence” and declared overconsumption the culprit. The American standard of fossil-fuel gluttony would have to end, the solution being self-sacrifice as much as policy. His candor went over well for a few days, lifting Carter’s approval rating, until the American public realized that the President was pointing the finger squarely at them. It is known as the final nail in the Carter administration’s coffin.
Organized by Cecilia Alemani, Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator, with Melanie Kress, High Line Art Associate Curator.
Follow @highlineartnyc on Twitter for location updates during the performances.
Artist bio
Ryan McNamara (b. 1979, Arizona) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Select group exhibitions and performances include Chai Wan Mei Art & Design Festival, Hong Kong (2014); To Be Real – performance and performativity, Kunstmuseum Bonn (Museum of Arts, Bonn), Videonale, Germany (2013); Performa 13, New York (2013); Watermill Performance Center, Water Mill, New York (2011); Greater New York, MoMA PS1, Long Island City, NY (2010); Performa 09, New York (2009); 2nd Athens Biennale, Greece (2009); and The Kitchen, New York (2007). In 2013, McNamara was the recipient of the Performa 13 Malcolm McLaren award for his performance MEƎM: A STORY BALLET ABOUT THE INTERNET. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Support
High Line Art is presented by Friends of the High Line and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. High Line Art is made possible by Donald R. Mullen, Jr. and The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston, with additional support from David Zwirner Gallery, and Vital Projects Fund, Inc. High Line Art is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
