cao-fei – PLAYTIME

Trevor Smith on Cao Fei: Transcript

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Rebecca Bednarz

Cao Fei makes machines behave like bodies and bodies behave like machines. In Shadow Life, she works with clockwork precision of virtuoso puppeteers. In Rumba, she makes robots dance.

It feels to me as it she’s making fun of the utopian ideal that if technology could free us from labor, we would all have a lot more time to play. For example, to clean the floor I used to have to vacuum or sweep. Now, a robot can do that while I check my Twitter feed.

When Cao Fei takes robotic vacuums off the floor and onto platforms in a gallery, their continuous movement accomplishes nothing and instead becomes an absurd dance—a Roomba rumba, if you will.

Return to the artist page.

Cao Fei

Posted on January 30, 2018March 4, 2019 by Rebecca Bednarz

“The theme of reality versus dream and fantasy is present throughout my works.”

WHO

Cao Fei (born 1978, China) is a video and installation artist currently working in Beijing. Part of a generation born after the Cultural Revolution, the artist reflects on China’s transformation by exploring themes of power, absurdity, and utopia in her work.

WHAT

Cao’s art often takes a real-life situation and investigates it through the framework of technology or gaming. In the case of Rumba 01 & 02, she humorously tackles domestic life in the twenty-first century by confining robotic vacuums to endless movement on museum pedestals. In Shadow Life, Cao uses a traditional Chinese art form—“shadow shows”—to create a video that tells a contemporary story of politics in modern China and beyond.

WHY

Cao attempts to expose the underbelly of consumerist culture in her native China and its global implications. By exploring paradoxes of modern society in bizarre and beautiful ways, she navigates a rapid cultural shift influenced by foreign powers and the virtual worlds of the Internet.

LISTEN

PlayTime curator Trevor Smith talks about how Cao Fei uses play to blur the boundaries between humans and machines. Read the transcript.

WORKS

Rumba 01 & 02, 2016
Cleaning robots and pedestals
Courtesy of the artist and Vitamin Creative Space

Shadow Life , 2011
Video (10 minutes)
Courtesy of the artist and Vitamin Creative Space

(Image credits: Courtesy of the artist and Vitamin Creative Space; courtesy of the artist and Vitamin Creative Space, photo by Zhang Chi (detail); photo by Allison White/PEM; courtesy of the artist and Vitamin Creative Space.)

Play Digest: Cao Fei and Lara Favaretto

Posted on March 30, 2018March 4, 2019 by Eugenia Bell

Using two very different approaches to materials, artists Cao Fei and Lara Favaretto both look at the absurdities of contemporary life. From the deeply digital to the industrial mundane, here’s a little more about how these two PlayTime artists look at life and play.

Artist Cao Fei had her first major museum retrospective at MoMA PS1 at the age of thirty-seven. In PlayTime, we present two pieces in which the artist finds playful responses to technology and humanity—giving life to machines or swapping mechanical precision for humanity. As curator Trevor Smith puts it, she is riffing on the idea that if “technology could free us from labor, we’d all have more time to play.”

Much of Fei’s digital-cinematic work revolves around video game imagery, cosplay, and the assignment of avatars in our lives, and she emphasizes the transcription of abilities onto other forms. She sometimes refers to her characters not just merely as avatars, but as “interpreters.”

She is no stranger to more conventional notions or sources of play, either. After having children and being immersed in the mindless anthropomorphism of everything from flowers to trains, her appreciation of children’s notions of play led to the making of the film East Wind starring a truck (manufactured for collecting trash by Dong Feng, or “east wind”) modeled on Thomas the Tank Engine and follows it as it drives Beijing’s highways and collects onlookers at fuel stops (he also gets pulled over by the police).

More recently, Cao has been selected by BMW as the latest creator for its Art Car project—the first Chinese artist to do so—premiering this week at Art Basel Hong Kong.

Lara Favaretto makes work comprised of a dry sense of humor and an exploration of art through the scrim of industrialized society—often combining the two: disintegrating cubes of paper confetti; a room of oxygen tanks triggering tiny party favors into action; and, of course, the showpiece of PEM’s East India Marine Hall, Coppie Semplici / Simple Couples, which uses car wash brushes to celebrate absurdity and comment on the mundanity of contemporary life. She says of her work and chosen materials: “I select objects that add parallel lives to my installations, objects that already have a history, especially those that have been submitted to various kinds of energy, power, and weather conditions—all agents that intervene on the materials that compose each artifact.”

Last summer, two of Favaretto’s installations sparked commentary: at Skulptur Projekte Münster, she installed the next in her Monument series, the sculpture Momentary Monument – The Stone—“marked with a deep slit into which visitors can throw their spare change”—which raised over $30,000 for people facing deportation. In Nottingham, Thinking Head had Nottingham Contemporary neighbors calling the fire squad!

Check in next week for a new roundup of the latest play news and stories.

(Image credit: Photo by Allison White/PEM.)

The Works

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Rebecca Bednarz

Cory Arcangel

Image of Cory Arcangel, still from Totally Fucked, 2003, handmade hacked Super Mario Brothers cartridge and Nintendo NES video game system. Courtesy of the artist.

Cory Arcangel, still from Totally Fucked, 2003, hacked Super Mario Brothers cartridge and Nintendo NES video game system. On loan from the artist. Photo by Maria Zanchi. © Cory Arcangel

Cory Arcangel, still from Self Playing Nintendo 64 NBA Courtside 2, 2011, hacked Nintendo 64 video game controller, Nintendo 64 game console, NBA Courtside 2, game cartridge, and video. Courtesy of the artist.

Cory Arcangel, still from Self Playing Nintendo 64 NBA Courtside 2, 2011, hacked Nintendo 64 video game controller, Nintendo 64 game console, NBA Courtside 2 game cartridge, and video. On loan from the artist. Photo by Maria Zanchi. © Cory Arcangel

Learn more about Cory Arcangel.

Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford, Practice

Mark Bradford, Practice, 2003, video (3 minutes). Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Learn more about Mark Bradford.

Nick Cave

Nick Cave, clip from Bunny Boy, 2012, video (14 minutes). Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. © Nick Cave

Learn more about Nick Cave.

Martin Creed

Martin Creed, Work No. 329, 2004, balloons. On loan from Rennie Collection, Vancouver. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Martin Creed, Work No. 798, emulsion on wall, 2007. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Martin Creed.

Lara Favaretto

Lara Favaretto, Coppie Semplici / Simple Couples, 2009, seven pairs of car wash brushes, iron slabs, motors, electrical boxes, and wires. On loan from Rennie Collection, Vancouver. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Lara Favaretto.

Cao Fei

Cao Fei, Rumba 01 & 02, 2016, cleaning robots and pedestals. Photo courtesy of the artist and Vitamin Creative Space. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Cao Fei, still from Shadow Life, 2011, video (10 minutes). On loan from the artist and Vitamin Creative Space. Courtesy of the artist and Vitamin Creative Space.

Learn more about Cao Fei.

Brian Jungen

Brian Jungen, Owl Drugs, 2016, Nike Air Jordans and brass. On loan from the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. Photo by Jean Vong.

Brian Jungen, Horse Mask (Mike), 2016, Nike Air Jordans. On loan from the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. Photo by Jean Vong.

Brian Jungen, Blanket no. 3, 2008, professional sports jerseys. On loan from the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. Photo by Jean Vong.

Learn more about Brian Jungen.

Teppei Kaneuji

Teppei Kaneuji, Teenage Fan Club (#66–#72), 2015, plastic figures and hot glue. On loan from the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery, New York. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Teppei Kaneuji, White Discharge (Built-up Objects #40), 2015, wood, plastic, steel, and resin. On loan from the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery, New York. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Brian Jungen.

Paul McCarthy

Paul McCarthy, Pinocchio Pipenose Householddilemma, 1994, video (44 minutes). On loan from the Marieluise Hessel Collection, Hessel Museum of Art, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. © Paul McCarthy

Learn more about Paul McCarthy.

Rivane Neuenschwander

Rivane Neuenschwander, Watchword, 2013, embroidered fabric labels, felt panel, wooden box, and pins. On loan from the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo, Brazil; and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London.

Learn more about Rivane Neuenschwander.

Pedro Reyes

Pedro Reyes, Disarm Mechanized II, 2012–14, recycled metal from decommissioned weapons. On loan from the artist and Lisson Gallery, London. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Pedro Reyes.

Robin Rhode

Robin Rhode, still from He Got Game, 2000, digital animation (1 minute). On loan from the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Robin Rhode, detail of Four Plays, 2012–13, inkjet prints. On loan from the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Robin Rhode, Double Dutch.

Robin Rhode, Double Dutch, 2016, chromogenic prints. On loan from the David and Gally Mayer Collection. Photo courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Robin Rhode, See/Saw.

Robin Rhode, See/Saw, 2002, digital animation (1 minute). On loan from the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Robin Rhode, Street Gym, 2000–2004, digital animation (1 minute). On loan from the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Learn more about Robin Rhode.

Roman Signer

Roman Signer, Kayak.

Roman Signer, Kajak (Kayak), 2000, video (6 minutes). On loan from the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Roman Signer

Roman Signer, Punkt (Dot), 2006, video (2 minutes). On loan from the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Roman Signer

Roman Signer, Bürostuhl (Office Chair), 2006, video (1 minute). On loan from the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Roman Signer, Rampe (Ramp), 2007, video (30 seconds). On loan from the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Learn more about Roman Signer.

Gwen Smith

Gwen Smith, from the series The Yoda Project, 2002–17, sixteen inkjet printed photographs. On loan from the artist.

Learn more about Gwen Smith.

Angela Washko

Performing in Public: Ephemeral Actions in World of Warcraft, 2012–17, three-channel video installation. Courtesy of the artist.

Performing in Public: Four Years of Ephemeral Actions in World of Warcraft (A Tutorial), 2017, video (1 minute, 44 seconds). Courtesy of the artist.

The Council on Gender Sensitivity and Behavioral Awareness in World of Warcraft, 2012, video.

Nature, 2012
7 minutes

Healer, 2012
4 minutes

Playing A Girl, 2013
21 minutes

Red Shirts and Blue Shirts (The Gay Agenda), 2014
24 minutes

We Actually Met in World of Warcraft, 2015
52 minutes

Safety (Sea Change), 2015
44 minutes, 19 seconds

Courtesy of the artist.

/misplay, from The World of Warcraft Psychogeographical Association, 2015, video (1 hour, 15 minutes). Courtesy of the artist.

Learn more about Angela Washko.

Agustina Woodgate

Agustina Woodgate, Rose Petals, 2010, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from the Benjamin Feldman Collection. Courtesy of Spinello Projects, Miami.

Agustina Woodgate, Galaxy, 2010, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from the Collection of Charles Coleman. Courtesy of Spinello Projects, Miami.

Agustina Woodgate, Royal, 2010, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from the Collection of Alan Kluger and Amy Dean. Courtesy of Spinello Projects, Miami.

Agustina Woodgate, Peacock, 2010, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from the artist and Spinello Projects. Courtesy of Spinello Projects, Miami.

Agustina Woodgate, Jardin Secreto, 2017, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from Alex Fernandez-Casais. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Agustina Woodgate.

Erwin Wurm

Erwin Wurm, 59 Stellungen (59 Positions).
Erwin Wurm, 59 Stellungen (59 Positions), 1992, video (20 minutes). On loan from Studio Erwin Wurm. Courtesy of Studio Erwin Wurm.

Erwin Wurm, Double Piece, 2002, from the series One Minute Sculptures, ongoing, sweater, instruction drawing, and pedestal, performed by the public. On loan from Studio Erwin Wurm. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Erwin Wurm, Organisation of Love, 2007, from the series One Minute Sculptures, ongoing, utensils, instruction drawings, and pedestal, performed by the public. On loan from Tate Modern. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Erwin Wurm, Metrum, 2015, from the series One Minute Sculptures, ongoing, shoes, instruction drawing, and pedestal, performed by the public. On loan from Studio Erwin Wurm. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Erwin Wurm, Sweater, pink, 2018, cotton-acrylic blend fabric and metal. On loan from Studio Erwin Wurm. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Erwin Wurm.