Last night The Pace Gallery‘s West 22nd Street location inaugurated its thematic summer show, Soft Machines, titled after the 1961 William S. Burroughs novel of the almost-same name, and bringing together works that consider the body’s relationship to systems of power. Most powerful among the works at last night’s opening was Kate Gilmore‘s new performance piece, “Through the Claw” (2011), which began at 6pm and lasted until the five performance artists in yellow flower print dresses had scraped apart a giant cube of clay. It was a very enjoyable performance, as you may surmise from these photos.
Starting in on the cube of clay at 6pm, the five women got off to a slow start but hit their stride shortly after 7pm and finished dismantling the huge mass shortly after 8:15pm to cheers of encouragement from the crowd. Below is a photographic account of the clay-slinging show. Its aftermath, along with the exhibition Soft Machines, remains on view at The Pace Gallery’s 22nd Street location through August 26.
i looove soft clay!