MTV, MoMA PS1 & Creative Time Bring Groundbreaking Video Art to Audiences Worldwide With Launch of Art Breaks

MTV, MoMA PS1 & Creative Time Bring Groundbreaking Video Art to Audiences Worldwide With Launch of Art Breaks

MTV to Debut Video Art from Ten Emerging Artists Throughout 2012

NEW YORK, March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MTV, MoMA PS1, and Creative Time today announced Art Breaks a new series of ten original video art pieces by some of the most exciting emerging artists working around the world today. The videos, which were commissioned and curated by Creative Time and MoMA PS1, will debut on MTV, MTV.com, MTV's Facebook page and a dedicated Tumblr page beginning Monday, April 2nd and continuing throughout 2012, bringing experimental artwork directly to MTV's global audience of more than 600 million.

Art Breaks builds on MTV's rich legacy of introducing its audience to vanguard video art, including early work from Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Spike Jonze, Kenny Scharf and Doug Aitken, as well as Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes. The first five videos in the new series include works by Rashaad Newsome, Mickalene Thomas, Tala Madani, Jani Ruscica, and Mads Lynnerup.

"Creative expression and experimentation are at the core of MTV's DNA," said Stephen Friedman, President of MTV. "Through this groundbreaking collaboration with MoMA PS1 and Creative Time, we're thrilled to use the enormous power of television to introduce audiences around the world to this pioneering art work."

Anne Pasternak, President and Artistic Director of Creative Time, says of the unique partnership: "We are very excited to be working with MTV in honoring its iconoclastic and influential roots in introducing cutting-edge art and culture to millions of people around the globe."

"MoMA PS1 is a laboratory for contemporary practice," said Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1 and Chief Curator at Large of MoMA. "And this collaboration allows a younger generation of artists to experiment beyond the walls of the museum and onto the screens of a broad, international audience."

The first round of five videos includes works by bold, young, ascendant visual artists whose work is designed to engage a new generation of MTV viewers. Rashaad Newsome (b. 1979 in New Orleans, lives and works in New York, NY) uses performance, photography, collage, video, sculpture, and sound to develop multimedia works that examine the intersection between pop and subculture forms. He has exhibited and performed at venues including The Kitchen and Centre Georges Pompidou, and his work was included in the 2010 Whitney Biennial and the Greater New York exhibition at MoMA PS1 in 2010. For Art Breaks, Newsome created a new video from his ongoing SWAG the Mix Tape project, inspired by his interest in the language of heraldry and the history of the mix tape in the context of the early days of hip-hop.

Newsome says, "As a kid I remember being captivated by the videos and animations that MTV would air in between programming. I am so excited to be a part of this project as MTV has been a huge inspiration for me and I can think of no other place better suited to premiere SWAG Vol. 2."

Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971 in Camden, lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) explores notions of beauty from a contemporary perspective, influenced by popular culture and pop art. She earned her MFA from Yale University School of Art and regularly participates in exhibitions internationally, with upcoming solo exhibitions at the Santa Monica Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum. ReVay, Thomas' piece for Art Breaks, is a snapshot-style portrait shot on Super 8 film that challenges conventional notions of sexuality and femininity.

"Having the opportunity to share my creative vision in collaboration with MTV and some of New York's foremost cultural institutions has been an amazing experience," Thomas says. "I am very honored to have participated in this collaborative project...plus who wouldn't want to be on MTV?"

Tala Madani (b. 1981 in Tehran, lives and works in Los Angeles, CA) creates stop-motion animations that utilize the bizarre and surreal to address cultural and gender differences, exploring connections between power structures, law, and language. Madani also graduated from the Yale University School of Art MFA program and has exhibited at MoMA PS1, the New Museum, the Saatchi Gallery, and the Venice Biennale. Her project for Art Breaks consists of the silent work Under Man, in which a man is aggressively pelted by objects until he decides to bury himself. Through film, video, and photography, Jani Ruscica (b. 1978 in Helsinki, lives and works in Helsinki, Finland) combines elements of cinema, video art, theater, and performance to produce collaborative works that investigate how one defines location and placement. For Art Breaks, Ruscica has collaborated with fellow Finnish artist Sini Pelkki on Screen Test (for a living sculpture), a video close-up of a performer quietly confronting the viewer in a fleeting moment rooted in mundane experience. Mads Lynnerup (b. 1976 in Copenhagen, lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) works in a variety of media, creating humorous and poignant works based on observations he makes of his immediate environment. Lynnerup has shown his work internationally, including at the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Miami Art Museum, and MoMA PS1. For Art Breaks, he has collaborated with a NYC-based personal trainer to create a video, titled Astrobright (fake and temporary), of short fitness workout segments that take an alternative approach to teaching the viewer how to keep him- or herself healthy via exercise routines that take place outside the gym.

The second group of five participating artists will be announced and debut on-air and online in summer 2012. Additional information on Art Breaks can be found at Artbreaks.MTV.com.

ABOUT MTV

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy®, Grammy® and Peabody® award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. For more information, go to www.mtvpress.com.

ABOUT MoMA PS1

MoMA PS1 is one of the largest and oldest organizations in the United States solely devoted to contemporary art. Established in 1976 by Alanna Heiss, MoMA PS1 originated from The Institute for Art and Urban Resources, a not-for-profit organization founded five years prior with the mission of turning abandoned, underutilized buildings in New York City into artist studios and exhibition spaces. P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, as it then was known, became an affiliate of The Museum of Modern Art in 2000.

SUPPORT

Operations and programs of MoMA PS1 are supported by the MoMA PS1 Board of Directors; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Helen M. Marshall, Queens Borough President; Council Member James Van Bramer; The Council of the City of New York; and the MoMA PS1 Annual Fund, Annual Exhibition Fund, and The Student Body. The MoMA PS1 Annual Fund is supported by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Union Beer Distributors, Susan G. Jacoby, Mathis Pfohl Foundation, Christina Dalle Pezze, Jane K. Lombard, Andrew Edlin Gallery, Marian Goodman Gallery, Saks Fifth Avenue, and other donors.

ABOUT CREATIVE TIME

Since 1974, Creative Time has presented the most innovative art in the public realm. The New York-based nonprofit has worked with over 2,000 artists to produce more than 335 groundbreaking public art projects that have ignited the public's imagination, explored ideas that shape society, and engaged millions of people around the globe. Creative Time seeks to convert the power of artists' ideas into works that inspire social change and stimulate public dialogue on timely issues, while initiating a dynamic conversation among artists, sites, and audiences. A vanguard presenter of public art in New York, Creative Time recently began presenting national and global projects and initiatives, making it the only public arts organization with programs that have reached from New York to New Orleans, Haiti to Hanoi, Dubai to Denver, and beyond. These projects further Creative Time's belief in the importance of artists in society and the power of art to raise consciousness, expose injustices, and imagine a better world. For more information on Creative Time and its projects, visit www.creativetime.org.

SUPPORT

Creative Time is funded through the generous support of corporations, foundations, government agencies, and individuals. Major programming support for 2012 has been provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Ford Foundation, and the Lambent Foundation, a project of The Tides Center. Creative Time also gratefully acknowledges public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The official hotel sponsor of Creative Time is The Standard, and the official flower designer is Fleurs Bella.

SOURCE MTV

MTV

CONTACT: Janice Gatti, MTV, +1-212-846-8852, janice.gatti@mtvstaff.com; or Jessica Shaefer, Creative Time, +1-212-206-6674 x222, jessicas@creativetime.org; or Rebecca Taylor, MoMA PS1, +1-718-786-3139, rebecca_taylor@moma.org

Web Site: http://www.mtv.com

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