A four-channel video installation is open to the public at Affirmation Arts from November 12 - 23, Tuesday through Saturday, 11am - 6pm.

Einat Amir's Our Best Intentions invites audience members to take part in an intimate participatory performance combining elements from psychotherapy, theater and art. As individuals walk into a space divided into four domestic areas - a family lounge, a bedroom, a study, and a dining room - each participant selects a vest featuring an array of labels, such as "mother," "doubt," "addiction," "lover," "future," and more. Under the direction of four moderators, the performance becomes a collaborative session where participants are encouraged to use personal stories and memories to confront unresolved issues, form momentary and intimate connections with strangers, and reveal themselves in unexpected ways. Our Best Intentions is an unpredictable series of interactions between moderators and audience members that seeks to contrast the individual/internal experience of therapy with the more dramatic devices of performance. As the action moves throughout the demarcated space, the audience is both active and passive, taking turns to watch other rooms and participate within their own section, adding to the climatic, often emotional roller coaster ride of different scenarios that will unfold in the space.

Einat Amir (1979, Tel Aviv) is a video and performance artist who confronts audiences with situations that interweave reality and fiction, challenging the viewer to test their own personal boundaries and question societal norms. Amir's work has been shown at MoMA/PS1, New York; Performa09, presented by Scaramouche, New York; The Kitchen, New York; Dallas Contemporary Art Center, Texas; Palais De Tokyo, Paris; Fondation d'entreprise Ricard, Paris; Whitechapel Gallery, London; Haifa Museum of Art, Israel; Bat Yam Museum of Art, Israel; Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel; Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Denmark; Winzavod Art Center, Moscow; Bergen Kunsthall, Norway; Lilith Performance Studio, Malmö, Sweden; and Städtische Galerie, Bremen, Germany. Amir received an M.F.A. in Visual Arts from Columbia University in 2009.

Founded in 2004 by art historian and curator RoseLee Goldberg, Performa is the leading organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live performance in the history of twentieth-century art, and to encouraging new directions in performance for the twenty-first century. Performa is the only biennial dedicated to commissioning, presenting and exploring new visual art performance across disciplines. For three weeks, November 1 - 24, 2013, Performa 13 and a consortium of innovative organizations will band together to transform New York City into an international platform for celebrating live art.

All images: Einat Amir, "Our Best Intentions", 2013, video installation and performance, Photos: Dan Haimovich, Courtesy of Scaramouche NY.

Affirmation Arts Gallery
523 West 37th Street (between 10th & 11th Avenues)
New York (NY) 10018 United States
Tel. +1 (212) 9250092
mike@affirmationarts.com
www.affirmationarts.com

Opening hours
Monday - Friday
From 10am to 6pm