Me and Everyone That is With Me

Due to the process-based nature of the Session program, this project will undergo constant modifications; the features of this page provide accruing information on the project’s developments.

On January 2012, artists Alex Casso, Graham Hamilton, and Dan Herschlein, working under the name After School Special, began collaborating with the Education Department at the Whitney Museum of American Art on several in-depth classes for students aged 6-14 from the Regent Family Residence. Employing Fluxus-inspired prompts, the artists and children used the classroom and the Whitney’s galleries to investigate the overlap of play and performance. During workshops, the artists gathered audio and video footage and collected students’ drawings and collages.

From March 22 – April 11, the artists will translate their findings in the form of an immersive installation at Recess. Statements, sketches and actions generated through collaborations with the children will become sets for improvised and prescribed actions. Using multiple live video feeds and simultaneous projections, visitors to Recess will take on the role of performer as their presence is enmeshed within these sets and replayed throughout the space. Placing the viewer in these mirrored stages, the artists will replicate the performative play generated by the children.

Session invites artists to use Recess’s public platform to combine productive studio space with dynamic exhibition opportunities. Sessions remain open to the public from the first day of the artist’s project through the last, encouraging sustained dialogue between artists and audiences. Due to the process-based nature of Session, projects undergo constant revision and the above proposal is subject to change.