Elana Mann
Elana Mann
 elanamann@gmail.com

IBD (Improvised Balloon Device), 2007

CV

b. 1980, lives and works in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Education
2007 MFA California Insitute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2003 BFA Washington University in St. Louis, MO, with a major in sculpture

Solo or two person exhibitions
2007
the usefulness of forgetting, Gallery D300, CalArts, Valencia, CA
2006
"Conversation Pieces,"  A collaboration with Adam Overton, Gallery A402, CalArts, Valencia, CA
2003
Elk grave-sight, Tyson Research Center, Eureka, MO

Selected group exhibitions 
2008
A to B: A Field Guide to Commuting, Fellows of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
The Collective Body, FABS Gallery, Warsaw, Poland

2007 
The Collective Body, Galerie Califia, The Czech Republic
Drip Event, The Pawn Shop, Los Angeles, CA
The Other Project, Valencia, CA
The Girly show, Wignall Museum, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA (Forthcoming Oct.)
For Ever, 915 Mateo, Los Angeles, CA (Opens June 2nd)
A not simple case for torture, CalArts, Valencia, CA
The Powder Room, Track 16, Los Angeles, CA
Abre-Alas, A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro, BR

2006
Mid-Residency Exhibition, L-Shape Gallery, CalArts, Valencia
It was the Blurst of times, Commerce Street Artists Warehouse, Houston, TX
GLAMFA, The Gatov Galleries, California State Univeristy, Longbeach, CA
Video Nightmare, Raid Projects, Los Angeles, CA 

2005
Hello my name is: Main Gallery, CalArts, Valencia, CA
The door show, CalArts, Valencia, CA

2003
BFA exhibition, Steinberg Gallery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

2001
Art is Everything, Des Lee Gallery, St. Louis, MO

Curatorial Projects
2007 
Exquisite Acts & Everyday Rebellions: 2007 CalArts Feminist Art Symposium, Valencia, CA
TROCA: USA, A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro, BR 

2005
The Door Show, CalArts, Valencia, CA
TROCA: Brasil, The Feldman Gallery + Project Space, The Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR

Awards/Grants/Residencies
2005
Wilamette Week “Best Group show of 2005” for the TROCA: Brasil exhibit, Portland, OR

2004 
Franconia Sculpture Park intern artist fellowship, Shafer, MN

2003
John T. Milliken Traveling Scholarship, St. Louis, MO
Commencement Marshall, Valedictorian of the School of Art, St. Louis, MO
Secor Sculpture Award, St. Louis, MO
Crescent Hills Research Grant, Tyson Research Center, Eureka, MO

2002 
University City Public Sculpture Commission, St. Louis, MO

Selected Press
Sydell, Laura, “Los Angeles Exhibit shines light on Women in Art,” Weekend Edition, NPR, March 11, 2007
Buckley, Annie, “Viewpoints” Artweek, March, 2007
Muchnic, Suzanne, “Landmarks from a younger vantage,” Los Angeles Times, Sunday, March 4, 2007
Gallivan, Joseph, “Artists take a pit of Portland, come back with pieces of Rio,” The Portland Tribune, Feb. 20, 2007
Osório, Luiz Camillo, “Exposição revela poética das trocas,” O Globo, February 9th, 2007
Butcher, Isabel, “Arte contra clichés,” Veja; Rio magazine, Edition 1991, Volume 40, number 2, page 40, January 17th, 2007
Orosco, Dolores, “O império contra-ataca,” Jornal do Brasil, Volume 116, No. 279, Saturday, January 13th, 2007
Leitão, Gustavo, “Contra-ataque ‘made in USA,’” O Globo: Rio show magazine, No. 26.821, pg 42, Friday, January 12, 2007
Aör, Rodrigo, “Ventos dos EUA,” Jornal do Brasil: Programa magazine, Volume 116, No. 278 pg. 46, Jan 12-18th, 2007
Happenings magazine, Winter edition, California Institute of the Arts, 2006

 
Comments
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Dec 27, 2007 9:02 AM
Welcome to UBER, have a great time here. Please if you like my photo works add any comment on my page. Thank you and have a nice day.
Oct 31, 2007 5:09 AM
You're work is fun and revealing! Thanks for the add!
May 10, 2007 8:26 PM
I'm the first to leave an Uber comment! Here's a photo from after your Track 16 opening - I'm calling it "(Beauty) Under a Canter's Sky"
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Portfolio
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Statement
    Every gesture, encounter and position contains invisible performances of gender, ethnicity and nationality.  My artwork highlights and undermines the theatricality of human interactions.  Through my explorations of political exchange, female identity and the failure of language, I challenge the intricate ways we express ourselves, and the (often alienating) manner of relating to one another.  My artistic production ranges from constructing performances, objects, and videos to curating international dialogues and exhibitions.  I emphasize the site of the artwork, whether through installations that affect physical experience or participatory environments that engage the context of an artwork or art exhibit.  In many of my projects I utilize varying strategies of collaboration, partnering with artists, composers and audiences, to mirror the relational content of the artwork.

    Two recent installations focused on performative interventions within the complexities of our current political climate.  IBD (Improvised Balloon Device), 2007, investigates a character's attempts and disappointments when encountering a location emblematic of political strife.  A female performer wearing a black velvet robe carries a giant net of balloons to an oil rig.  Visually, the balloons and figure formation allude to mushroom clouds, bubbling crude oil and political protests.  The resulting installation, including video, light boxes, and a net of hanging balloons, reference the feelings of grief, irrationality and helplessness surrounding North America's involvement and addiction to the oil industry.  In another work, Embroid, Embroil, 2007, a character dressed as the first lady weaves the contemporary icon of torture and othering into the palm of her hand.  The photographs from Embroid, Embroil juxtapose the drama and showmanship of governmental performance with the intimate result of individual criticality.  This slow and sometimes painful process embodies the desire and agony to understand and process the mass circulated images of Abu Ghraib.
   
    My concerns related to Feminism and international relations are further elaborated through organizing events and curating exhibitions.  I recently co-organized of a Feminist Art Symposium and Exhibition, entitled Exquisite Acts & Everyday Rebellions (2007) that underscored and added to the Feminist discourse at California Institute of the Arts.  The collective project included institute-wide programming, an exhibition of over 70 artists and a day-long symposium with fifteen invited speakers.  The event offered some historical information, but mainly focused on contemporary strategies of Feminism in artwork, pedagogy and political protests.  From 2005-7 I curated an art exchange between US and Brazilian artists, which dealt with the role of cultural diplomacy (or soft power) in international relations.  The interchange began with five artists from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil traveling to Portland, OR where they mounted an exhibit and gave lectures and workshops.  In return six artists and eight students from Portland visited Rio and presented artwork and lectures.  The exchange created new relationships and generated media attention about artists seeking ways to counteract stereotypes about North and South America.  The exhibitions and events encompass another facet in the continuum of my artistic practice, in which I remain focused on the failures and triumphs of dialog between our different bodies and divergent minds.
© 2008 Elana Mann. Website Created At Uber.com.