home exhibitions collaboration works contact © 2008 marc alperstein . collaboration » paths » commands » drawing performance » drawings » videos Exhibitions » new works /06 » falling down /05 » Untitled /04 » Driver Passenger /03 » Drawing /03 » Wren 2nd Bday /03				collaborative works: Marc Alperstein and Amélie Scalercio Artist statement: Collaborative practice that seeks to document a conversation or argument that exists between two wills struggling to impose their presence - their mark into an act. It is necessary that these works engage in collaborative practice to record the struggle that ensues in this dynamic exchange, one that could not exist if operating in solitude. With an emphasis on process, the artists set out to work simultaneously on a piece using set structures which allow for individual variation yet curtail the realisation of subjective intention. Through this process neither participant can claim any personal ownership for any mark created, as both artists have been directly and indirectly involved. What results is an argumentative dialogue and a lack of control that forces compromise between the artists. Through this restriction a form of 'freedom' is established that allows neither artist to create a subjective response, attempting to dissolve the subject/object duality that is still prevalent in Western art. In these collaborative works the process takes priority over the final outcome of the work. Paths Works are produced via a voice command that later employs the visual limitations of a grid and selected variable paths. In 100 moves a "blind" drawing is initiated, sustained and finished through the exchange of commands between the two operators. Each move surrenders ownership to the next giving way to a freedom within the restrictive elements that could not exist with a singular commander. Reliant on this process, the outcome cannot be envisioned and does not exist until after the event has unfolded verbally and subsequently transferred into a visual translation. [selected works] Commands Exploring the idea of ownership of an act through various commands, the works document actions that arise out of instructions given by each artist to the other. The instruction's outcome is inevitably restrained by the physical ability and bodily restraints of the receiver. The choice by the receiver to undertake the required task results in the commander losing ownership and authority of this action causing the explicit instruction to become uncontrollable in its outcome. [selected works] Drawing performance Collaborative drawings are produced via the two artists working simultaneously, wrists bound together, on a single piece. Using pencils, textas, pastels, crayons, and charcoal as an extension of the artist's hand, the works create a clear indication of the mark making process that occurs in the creation of the work. The process, the binding of the artist's wrists, invokes a physical struggle for the individual to make their mark on the paper/surface. [selected works]