Performance: Woman in E by Ragnar Kjartansson
Performance: Woman in E by Ragnar Kjartansson
Hafnarhús
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A performance by Ragnar Kjartansson at the exhibition God, I Feel So Bad.
In the middle of a circular backdrop of glittery gold strips, a solitary female figure stands in a sequin gown like a living sculpture on a rotating platform. She carries a Fender electric guitar hooked to an amplifier and when she strums it, E minor echoes through the gallery. The chord is a classic base in music as this is a very natural key for the instrument.
It is melancholic yet insistent, in particular when repeated ad infinitum without variation as it is here.
The performance was commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit. There the work reflected the fact that the city gave birth to significant musical innovations of the 20th century.
The performance Woman in E is the second performance of the three that are a part of the exhibition. It is a durational performance ongoing as lon as the museum is open..
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