The Fabric Workshop & Museum in Philadelphia presents Laurie Anderson. Forty-Nine Days in the Bardo on view through November 19, 2011.
Forty-Nine Days in the Bardo is a new, multimedia body of work by internationally renowned performance artist Laurie Anderson, which makes its debut at The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM). Using the structure of a diary and The Tibetan Book of the Dead—also known as The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo—this exhibition explores the themes of love and death, the many levels of dreaming, and illusion. The installations include texts as well as drawings, sculptures, projections, and sound and are made from materials including mud, foil, iron, chalk, and ashes.
“In The Tibetan Book of the Dead, also known as The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo, the bardo is described as the forty-nine day period between death and rebirth. The book is a detailed description of the way the mind dissolves and what the spirit experiences in this transition. In April 2011, Lolabelle, my small rat terrier died after a long illness. For twelve years she had been my constant and faithful companion. Counting the forty-nine days from Lolabelle’s death I realized according to The Tibetan Book of the Dead Lolabelle would be reborn on June 5, my birthday.” — Laurie Anderson
Born in 1947, Chicago, IL. Recognized as a seminal artist of our time, Laurie Anderson emerged in downtown New York in the 1970s—a period of expression in opposition to political, economical, and social conventions—performing and exhibiting her works in alternative art settings. Over the course of thirty years, Anderson has distinguished herself as a multifaceted artist, who addresses life, politics, social issues, and technology through her use of spoken word and storytelling. In her theatrical performance, she integrates projected film and video, photography, graphics, sculpture, and electronic and instrumental music.
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
1214 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107-0922
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Image: Laurie Anderson, The Heavy Bear Who Goes With Me, 2011. Iron filings, magnets, and electronics. 25” x 17” x 7.5”, 27 lbs 8oz. Software and hardware designed by Shahar Zaks. © Laurie Anderson