ART-PRESENTATION:Yael Davids-A Daily Practice
Yael Davids examines the capacities in which the body operates as a documentary vessel, in connection to collective heritage, political narrative and private biographies. Inspired by Dr. Moshé Feldenkrais, she experiments with somatic learning and alternative systems of knowledge transfer and production. Composed of performative, sculptural and archival elements, her works often take the form of choreographic assemblages.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Van Abbemuseum Archive
Yael Davids in his solo exhibition “A Daily Practice” presents a selection of her own work, varying from sculpture to performance and installation, that can be viewed throughout ten galleries of Van Abbemuseum in combination with works by artists as: Hilma af Klint, Lee Lozano, Adrian Piper and Nasreen Mohamedi. “The school” programme, consisting of demonstrations and Feldenkrais classes, had to be postponed. Newly conceived classes by Davids, in relation to works from the Van Abbemuseum’s collection, are now planned for September. The exhibition marks a unique moment in Davids’ career: in the fall of 2020 she will be the first candidate to complete the three-year research trajectory leading to the title Creator Doctus (CrD). The programme, set up by the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam culminates in a collection of artistic works or projects, such as the exhibition “A Daily Practice”, rather than a written thesis. Davids’ research, commissioned by the Van Abbemuseum, focuses on somatic learning and is inspired by the work of Moshé Feldenkrais, who developed a method based on the principle that changing the way we move leads to a change in how we think, observe and feel. This principle has inspired Davids’ approach to the museum, its collection and the exhibition. Davids wants to challenge habitual patterns of looking at art within the walls of the museum. As the artist says “For the exhibition I approached the Van Abbemuseum as a body to be explored. A long hanging textile, works on loan and works from the collection are conceived as a spine, limbs and stomach”. As preparation for the exhibition, Davids conducted extensive research into the Van Abbemuseum collection. She was troubled by the absence of female artists in the collection with whom she felt an affinity. Davids subsequently compiled her own collection for the exhibition with works by artists whose process, views, position and life have played an important part in her own development as an artist. Loaned works by Noa Eshkol, Hilma af Klint, Lee Lozano, Nasreen Mohamedi, Adrian Piper and Andy Warhol/Jill Johnston can be seen, as well as works from the collection by: stanley brouwn, Anna Boghiguian, General Idea, El Lissitzky, Bruce Nauman and László Moholy-Nagy. All these artists used their work to challenge physical borders, social conventions and traditional processes of learning. Davids has produced several new works for the exhibition that heighten bodily awareness in the exhibition space. Visitors will have to manoeuvre themselves between large plates of glass. A 50-metre-long hanging textile installation will both connect and divide five galleries. In conjunction with guest curator Frédérique Bergholtz, Davids has developed a Feldenkrais demonstrations including works form the Van Abbemuseum collection, Davids’ work “Reading that Loves – A Physical Act” is also be on display, a work that was previously exhibited at EMST (National Museum of Contemporary Art) during Documenta 14 in Athens. This installation is a tribute to the historical figures Else Lasker-Schüler, Rahel Varnhagen, Cornelia Gurlitt and Julia Aquila Severa. The lives of these four fascinating women (all born before 1890) were characterised by attempts to enter the public domain while not conforming to the prevailing norms applicable to their gender, social background and appearance.
Info: Curator: Nick Aikens, Guest Curator performance: Frédérique Bergholtz, Van Abbemuseum, Bilderdijklaan 10, Eindhoven, Duration: 2/6-27/9/20, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 11:00-17:00, https://vanabbemuseum.nl
