YYZ: JENNIFER MARMAN + DANIEL BORINS | MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL KENNETH DOREN | RULE BRITANNIA: a low opera in grand shite style

KENNETH DOREN “RULE BRITANNIA: a low opera in grand shite style” Installation detail. Image courtesy the artist.



JENNIFER MARMAN + DANIEL BORINS | MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL
KENNETH DOREN | RULE BRITANNIA: a low opera in grand shite style
SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2009 – SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER 2009


JENNIFER MARMAN + DANIEL BORINS | MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL
On June 27, 2009, Marmco International celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony in 401 Richmond, kicking off construction of «MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL», the first ever artist-run centre mall of its kind in Canada (Marmco International is the pseudo-corporate-moniker of Toronto based artists JENNIFER MARMAN and DANIEL BORINS). «MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL» will host 430 square feet of retail space in a mini-mall built within the Z gallery. The project will officially open on Friday 11 September 2009 and it will feature four stores/small businesses designed by four sets of artists. JENNIFER MARMAN and DANIEL BORINS have conceived of and facilitated this project as part of a summer residency at YYZ. In the winter of 2009, MARMAN and BORINS invited four groups of artists to participate in this project by asking them: if they could open a store or small business, what would they dream of doing? The artists included in the project are Ken Ogawa, Aleks Ognjanovich, Ulysses Castellanos, and the Shinn family – Karey, Nick and their children Eric and Zoe.

JENNIFER MARMAN and DANIEL BORINS practice sculpture, installation and media art in Toronto. MARMAN and BORINS have shown work both in Canada and internationally, including exhibitions at: Art Santa Fe, in Santa Fe New Mexico; Galeria Vermelho, and Paco Das Artes, in Sao Paulo Brazil; at the University of Toronto; the Toronto International Art Fair; and the Toronto Sculpture Garden. In the fall of 2007 and winter of 2008 MARMAN and BORINS showed their sculpture The Presence Meter at the National Gallery of Canada, as part of an exhibition entitled Dots, Pulses, and Loops. In the fall of 2008 MARMAN and BORINS participated in a group sculpture show at the National Gallery of Canada entitled Caught in the Act. Most recently, they had their first museum level solo show at the Art Gallery of York University in Toronto. MARMAN and BORINS have been invited to speak at a number of galleries and institutions, including: the National Gallery of Canada, The Power Plant's Hub-Bub series, the Art Gallery of Ontario, University of Toronto, the Ontario College of Art and Design, York University, and Syracuse University. Their work is in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada (2008) and they are represented by Georgia Scherman Projects in Toronto. MARMAN and BORINS graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2001. Prior to that, MARMAN received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Western Ontario, and BORINS received a BA in Art History from McGill University.


KENNETH DOREN | RULE BRITANNIA: a low opera in grand shite style
KENNETH DOREN’s «RULE BRITANNIA: a low opera in grand shite style» is an interdisciplinary installation and performance about the past as well as the human potential to act, or simply knowing that we just don't have it in us. This «Low Opera» questions current and historical issues while interpreting social codes and philosophies. It's about the personal quest for greatness as well as the poetic beauty of falling from grace. «RULE BRITANNIA: a low opera in grand shite style» is summed up in the musical movement titles, borrowed from three consecutive lines from the second book of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost 1667. This opera might even humbly be seen as a contemporary interpretation of this great literary work.

Musically, this type of inter-disciplinary work elaborates on DOREN’s investigation in re-thinking Western classical music, performed and produced using multi-media elements, uncommon to classical concert music, to challenge the roles of the musician and composer. DOREN’s process for composing involves the use of sampling and manipulating source material via computer technology, then transcribing the new digital versions for an acoustic instrument performance, forming a complexity of untraditional harmonies and rhythms. For «RULE BRITANNIA: a low opera in grand shite style», the scoring is for two pianos (facing away from each other) and was inspired by British piano music. Mezzo Soprano Patrice Jegou improvises vocally within certain guidelines and styles that were pre-planned, videotaped and edited for a visual display in two video monitors, one on top of each piano. Her edited performance developed different costumed characters and presents an operatic visual presentation that plays homage to the grand «Shite Style» of yesteryear.

KENNETH DOREN is a Canadian multi-media artist and composer whose art installations, videos and digital operas have been presented in Canada, China, Finland, and the U.S.A. His work and practice employs musical interventions and political discourse utilizing video and performance to decode the subject. DOREN has developed a number of personal projects that he has termed 'digital operas' incorporating video and musical performance that challenge the parameters of composition, and the performance of western classical music and text. The digital operas and video work are performance spectacles in which DOREN has appropriated historical texts and juxtaposed them with references to pop culture. DOREN obtained his MFA from NSCAD University in 2005 and received an Alumni Award from Alberta College of Art and Design for recognition as one of the top 75 students throughout ACAD’s seventy-five year history.


UPCOMING EVENTS AT YYZ

WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2009
Ongoing event
«MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL» retailer War and Leisure introduces ESL Wednesdays, occurring WEDNESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2009, WEDNESDAY 7 OCTOBER 2009, WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER 2009.
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM

SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2009
Canadian Art Gallery Hop
Gallery Hours

THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER 2009
Performance
Performance Art Class by «MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL» retailer Chirajito: Clown Painter (Ulysses Castellanos).
7:00 PM – 9:30 PM

SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2009
Midnight Madness
«MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL» opens late from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM for a shopping extravaganza.
11:00 PM – 1:00 AM

WEDNESDAY 7 OCTOBER 2009
Lecture
Nick Shinn, of «MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL» retailer Shinndustry International, delivers a perspective lecture.
6:30 PM

THURSDAY 15 OCTOBER 2009
Fashion Show
Fashion show featuring designs by Karey Shinn, War and Leisure and a special performance by guest artists including Xenia Benivolski and others.
8:00 PM at Cinecycle

SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER 2009
Closing party
«MASSIVE SALE: YYZ MALL» hosts a garage sale with a DJ and cocktails and guest artists’ collective The White House. All merchandise, store fixtures and furniture must be sold for this business blow out.
Mall Hours

Performance
Kenneth Doren’s «RULE BRITANNIA: a low opera in grand shite style» performed by Joseph Ferretti, Elaine Lau, Fiona Jane Wood and Stephanie Chua
Meet at 6:00 PM. Performance at 6:30 PM. Duration: 33 minutes. Stay for drinks!

These events are subject to change. Please check the YYZ website (www.yyzartistsoutlet.org) for more information about the exhibitions and the most current information about the associated events.


For images and interviews contact Ana Barajas at 416-598-4546.





YYZ
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MALL HOURS
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