Anthony Schrag’s art doesn’t hang on the walls—he does. The installation artist and current McColl Center for Visual Art Artist-in-Residence uses his performances to expand our idea of the gallery, and have some fun, too. He’s even preparing a special performance for the Sept. 24 ZipStir opening reception and he might even climb all the way to the third floor galleries.
“I am thrilled to have an artist here who does this type of performance,” said Center Creative Director Ce Scott. “The Center has not presented this kind of work since our Grand opening fall of 1999.”
The 20-minute performance, “Art Can Not Save Us,” begins at 7:15 p.m. We listened and watched as he climbed and talked about his performance and his art.
Q: What do you have planned for the ZipStir opening?
A: I’m going to plan to do a performance that uses the building’s structure as a playground to climb.
Q: Why?
A: I’m interested in disrupting the standardization of movement. We have evolved to climb. That’s why we are the shape we are, and yet all we do is walk. How many people look at these little things and wonder what it’s like to be up there.
Q: How did you get started climbing on things?
A: I was never a very sporty person, but I’m an active person. I was always climbing and doing stuff like that. Growing up in Africa, I had all kinds of embarrassing nicknames about looking like a baboon or a monkey.
Q: How will you prepare for your big climb?
A: There’s a lot of mental preparation and a lot of stretching. There’s also physical testing of things. The actual route isn’t prepared.
Q: How does climbing the walls relate to your art?
A: Art is the thing that gives you meaning in your life. Art is the thing that’s supposed to be challenging our habits. It’s not just a structure that you work in. It’s a structure that offers a different way of life, if you choose to take that. I think there’s also something about danger. If something is safe, it’s not pushing boundaries. It’s safe because it’s known. If it’s about the unknown, it’s the very premise of art.
Q: Is this performance a good kick-off for your residency?
A: It gives a kernel to what my work is about. It’s a long line of performances that I do. It’s a sort of site-responsive performance. Art is fundamentally about play. Play is how we discover things. If we’re not playing in art, it’s dead. Hopefully people will see someone who’s willing to put himself out there and he’s willing to make a fool of himself. And that hopefully I’m very springy!
The opening reception for ZipStir, site specific installations by Hong Seon Jang and current Artist-in-Residence Jonathan Brilliant, begins at 6 p.m.
www.anthonyschrag.com