"David Bowie, Artist" Exhibition

Museum of Arts & Design

poster for "David Bowie, Artist" Exhibition

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"David Bowie, Artist", a public program, will celebrate this singular talent who has continued to be a constant innovator in performance-based practices. Expanding past his notoriety as a musician, "David Bowie, Artist" showcases the too-often-overlooked diversity and multifaceted nature of Bowie's total artistic output––presented in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition "Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities", this multi-platform retrospective—including a film series as well as kiosks showing music videos, interviews, concert footage and other audio-visual documentation.

David Bowie has been a major figure and force in music, film, fashion, art, and a multitude of creative disciplines over the last five decades. With an innate ability to shift and shape his persona, style, and creative direction, Bowie has crafted a powerful fusion of music, culture, and other performance practices—one that has become the blueprint for contemporary artists working in performance.

With training in mime from Lindsay Kemp, and roots in avant-garde theater, cabaret, and musical-based performance, Bowie merged these diverse disciplines into his highly influential character project: an otherworldly creature with bright red hair, a sparkly suit and platform shoes named Ziggy Stardust. Raising stagecraft to new heights in the 1970s with his rock spectacle cum tour, which synthesized theater, video, art, and music, Bowie pushed the boundaries of performance.

During his meteoric rise to superstardom, Bowie continued to work on and off the screen, taking memorable roles in film and theatre. He impressed critics and audiences with his turn on Broadway in "The Elephant Man," and his many onscreen roles most notably as a humanoid alien in "The Man Who Fell To Earth," a goblin king in "The Labyrinth," a British officer in "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," and as Andy Warhol in "Basquiat."

In addition to working as a film actor, a fine artist, and collaborating on music videos, Bowie has also been an Internet pioneer. For these endeavors, in 2007, he received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

"David Bowie, Artist" is a retrospective presented by The Museum of Arts and Design. Film screenings will be held in the Theater at MAD, at 2 Columbus Circle, except for a special two-week run of a new 35mm print of "The Man Who Fell To Earth," which will screen at Film Forum, at 209 West Houston Street.

Media

Schedule

from May 09, 2011 to July 16, 2011

Artist(s)

David Bowie et al.

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