NYAB Event - Ericka Beckman “You The Better”

Ericka Beckman “You The Better”

Mary Boone Gallery (Chelsea)

This event has ended.

Mary Boone Gallery opens at its Chelsea location You The Better, an exhibition of work by ERICKA BECKMAN, curated by Piper Marshall. You The Better features an early film work of the same name. Created in 1983, the film was premiered at the New York Film Festival and shown at The Kitchen in 1984, but never exhibited in New York as a fully developed installation. For this exhibition, Beckman installs the film alongside its props. Choreographed lighting cues highlight the props and then dim in conjunction with specific points of film. This sequencing exteriorizes the film, extending its gameplay into space.

The film You The Better follows a team of uniformed players as they navigate a gaming world. The team performs a series of plays in a game controlled by a mysterious betting entity “the House”. While seemingly a game of skill, rules are altered and competitors exchanged, and the film reveals itself as based on mathematics of chance. While players go through the motions, the “House” and “Bettor” are those maneuvering. This structure positions the viewer as the contender, one struggling against a set of rules, a system whose algorithm has been determined in advance and may change at whim. In this film, the odds of gambling frustrate the assumed logic of competitive sports.