Alysse Stepanian: Memory of the Universe
December 8th, 7:00PM
Location: Pacific Felt Factory Arts Complex
2830 20th Street, San Francisco, CA
The Growlery, in conjunction with Pacific Felt Factory presents Alysse Stepanian: Memory of the Universe
In a night of screenings and artist talk, Alysse Stepanian will discuss her ongoing series of 3D animations and hybrid collaborative performances of the #MemoryoftheUniverse series. Through this project, Stepanian combines art and poetry with the factual language of history, and presents her overtly critical analysis of American culture and neoliberal politics. The protagonist, MOTU, who represents hope amidst despair, is a mythopoeic half-woman, half-cow creature that is the embodiment of the memory of the universe and is in process of becoming a Nietzschean superhero. As the world looks away from crimes that are unmet with restitution, their aftermaths resonate in the dark recesses of our minds and metaphorically, continue to live in the memory of the universe, eternally recurring, until we find ways to change our consciousness and current state of affairs. Project site: http://alyssestepanian.com/memoryoftheuniverse/
About the Artist: Alysse Stepanian is a Los Angeles-based and Iranian-born transmedia artist, independent curator and writer. Her creative work and research are focused on the effects of nationalism and politics of fear, and the importance of intersectionality in fighting injustices. Her recent projects include #MemoryoftheUniverse, a series of 3D animations and performances of speculative fiction combined with current global events. Stepanian has exhibited in 48 countries and has lectured about interconnected oppressions at the Pori Art Museum (Finland 2015), Malmö Konsthall (Sweden 2014), and Museo Ex Teresa Arte Actual (Mexico City 2013). Her collaborations include installations created with Philip Mantione under the name BOX 1035 at Kunsthaus Tacheles (Berlin 2006-7), Imagine Gallery (Beijing 2006), and the Islip Art Museum (New York 2006), with an emphasis on post-9/11 color-coded politics of fear. Their most recent collaboration with dancer/choreographer, Mallory Fabian, is a hybrid performance titled #MemoryoftheUniverse | Bayesian Poisoning, which was presented at Coaxial in LA and Instants Vidéo in Marseille, France, in late 2018.