When
Photographs of Performance
Project Summary
Credits
Press
Julia Mandle
In the context of busy metropolitan New York City, Julia Mandle created When—a storefront window performance at the New Museum of Contemporary Art—to challenge fast moving pedestrians to stop and witness the passage of time. The performance provided a visual alternative to an anxious environment where time slips carelessly away, and aging and dying are on the horizon.
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Mandle based When on a sundial’s measurement of natural time fluctuations and asked the audience to consider time as a subjective experience and as a function of our consciousness. As two performers in white dresses moved slowly through the window, their clock-like progression changed the dimensions of light and shadow in the window space. The crowd watched and waited to see the small movements and changes. Against the cacophony of the street, the subtle performance of When offered a meditative experience. Passersby stopped by the thousands, many taking a seat on the sidewalk, and sitting for an entire hour to watch. When revealed how contemporary society has lost an intimate awareness of the passing of time, but also uncovered a very engaged audience on the subject.
In the context of busy metropolitan New York City, Julia Mandle created When—a storefront window performance at the New Museum of Contemporary Art—to challenge fast moving pedestrians to stop and witness the passage of time. The performance provided a visual alternative to an anxious environment where time slips carelessly away, and aging and dying are on the horizon.
PAGEBREAK
Mandle based When on a sundial’s measurement of natural time fluctuations and asked the audience to consider time as a subjective experience and as a function of our consciousness. As two performers in white dresses moved slowly through the window, their clock-like progression changed the dimensions of light and shadow in the window space. The crowd watched and waited to see the small movements and changes. Against the cacophony of the street, the subtle performance of When offered a meditative experience. Passersby stopped by the thousands, many taking a seat on the sidewalk, and sitting for an entire hour to watch. When revealed how contemporary society has lost an intimate awareness of the passing of time, but also uncovered a very engaged audience on the subject.
New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY, July 1999
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New Museum of Contemporary Art commissioned When for the exhibition Time of Our Lives.
New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY, July 1999
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New Museum of Contemporary Art commissioned When for the exhibition Time of Our Lives.