Holly Crawford “13 Ways To Kill A Blackbird”

AC Institute

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AC Institute presents an interactive performance art experience by Holly Crawford titled 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. An installation of black biodegradable latex balloons assembled in the form of a temporary sculpture, 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird is relational and situational, requiring both artist and audience participation to be complete.

Inspired by the poem by Wallace Stephens, this installation serves as a reminder of the impermanence of time and space. The blackbird is simultaneously a “line of vision” and a “line of thought”, and one can go only as far as the blackbird does, existing but for a brief moment. A time based installation, the structure is assisted in shifting by the ultimate popping of specific balloons by the audience and/or artist, and by the addition of fresh balloons as time goes on, which gives the blackbird a new form and thus, perspective.

Structured uniquely for each installation, 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird has been exhibited all over the world, including Florence, Berlin, Valencia, Los Angeles, Riverside Art Museum, CA, New York City, and Puerto Varas, Chile. An ongoing installation since 2002, it flows between time and space from the past to the present.

Holly Crawford is an international artist, poet, art historian, and curator. Her art and poetry give new meanings and draw categories themselves into question through transformative juxtapositions.