Live Footage from Performance Art Institute

This live performance of "Navigating a Riot" at "Micromanagement," an evening of performance curated by Sean Fletcher and Isabel Reichert, took place October 15, 2011 at the Performance Art Institute in San Francisco, CA.

The performance consisted of a PowerPoint presentation covering step-by-step instructions for navigating any riot situation, an instruction card for each audience member, and audience participation. I performed as the helpful “Practical Preparedness” guide from my series of videos of the same name. After viewing the presentation, I told the audience to take up their instruction cards, and follow along with basic movements as we went through the top ten tips for navigating a riot.

This body of work focuses on the fear generated by a chaotic world of non-stop technological revolution, impending global climate change, and hyperactive news media. I use humor and absurdist situations as a method for dealing with these challenging topics in an indirect way, resulting in an element of escapism.

Paradoxes in Video moves on to Tehran

Turns out "Paradoxes in Video," which was shown in San Diego earlier this year, has moved on for a brief 1 week engagement at the Mohsen Gallery in Tehran, Iran.



Wednesday at 4:00pm until Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 8:00pm

Sazmanab Project, Tehran | Mohsen Gallery
Mina Blvd., Farzan St., Nadji St.
Zafar, Tehran, IRAN

"Paradox" investigate the contradictions between documentary and performance, fact and fiction, order & chaos. What is real and what is staged? The absurdity of real life, the ambiguity of movement and the enigma of space are some of the perceptions raised in "Paradox".

...Curated by Larry Caveney and Sohrab Kashani
Organized in collaboration with Sazmanab Project, Tehran; and The Garage, San Diego

Artists:
Krista Caballero, Arthur Tuoto, Ellen Lake, Ellen Mueller, Eric Knowles, Ezra Wube, Kim Engelen, Mel Edelman, Nisha Duggal, Richard Gleaves, Toby Kaufmann Buhler, John Anthony, Yoni Goldstein & Meredith Zielke, Angela Washko, Neil Ira Neddleman, Cara Marisa Deleon, Benjamin Funke, Shahar Marcus, Lauren Marsden, Juan José Herrera

Third Strike: 100 Performances for The Hole

If you're in the San Francisco area, you won't want to miss "Third Strike: 100 Performances for The Hole."  I'm collaborating with Victoria Skelly on a presentation of one of my Practical Preparedness videos for the hole ("How to Use the Hole in Case of Emergency").

If you're wondering what an array of such brief performances might look like, check out this video.

December 10, 2011, 5:58pm–midnight

SOMArts Cultural Center

934 Brannan Street,
San Francisco, CA 94103

WATCH IT! at Taubman Museum of Art

If you're going to be around Roanoke, VA on Friday, Dec 2, please stop by the Taubman Museum of Art to catch "WATCH IT!," a showcase of contemporary video art curated by Virginia Tech students from the School of Visual Arts (SOVA) under the direction of Dr. Simone Paterson.

"Isolation," from my Practical Preparedness series of videos will be on view.

A printed catalog & DVD will be available for the exhibition (they received 134 submissions and 13 were selected for the exhibition - exciting!).

If you can't make it for this opening event (5-10pm on Fri, Dec 2, 2011), the exhibition will be on view December 2, 2011 through February 26, 2012.

Taubman Museum of Art
110 Salem Avenue SE
Roanoke, VA 24011

Video of Duluth Billboard

Check it out - at the 7:30 minute mark is my work.

This footage is from Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 12 a.m. and running for 48 hours until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, August 21, 2011.

"TWO" at XYandZ Gallery

Celebrating two years of business, XYandZ Gallery presents TWO an exhibit that focuses on the relationships that have been developed between artists both inside and outside the space.

Turning back the clock to our earliest exhibits and those throughout the past two years, XYandZ has invited former exhibitors to curate their own section of the gallery by presenting two artists of their choosing: One emerging artist and one established. From internationally recognized street artists to locally-bred art darlings, the exhibit will offer a truly eclectic array of work, hand-selected by XYandZ artists.

Kicking off on Nov. 25th as a nod to Black Friday, TWO will offer an artistic alternative to waiting in line at Walmart at 5am with special prices on one-of-a-kind art works, one day only. A traditional opening will occur on Friday Dec. 2nd.

BLACK FRIDAY SALE Nov 25: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

OPENING RECEPTION Dec 2: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

TWO runs November 25-December 17 at XYandZ Gallery

EXHIBITING ARTISTS: buZ Blurr aka Colossus of Roads, Allan Packer, Adam Garcia, Mia Nolting, White Cocoa, Jennifer Davis, Ellen Mueller, Michael Gaughan, Oakley Tapola, Dane Klingaman, Alex Chitty, Lee Relvas, Eric Ruby, Charlie B. Ward, Ben Lafond, Brian Aldrich, Nick Howard, Paul Kaloper, David De Boer, James Boyd Brent, Rachel James, Matt Yaeger, Ryan Brink, Jesse Peterson, Vaughn Bell.

CURATORS former XYandZ exhibitors: Eric Burke OverUnder/Reno, NV, John Grider & Mike Fitzsimmons Broken Crow, Drew Peterson Chicago, IL, Keegan Wenkman Portland, OR, Tonja Torgerson Syracuse, NY, Dane Johnson Los Angeles, CA, Dan Luedtke Chicago, IL, Brian Borlaug Los Angeles, CA, Josh Winkler, Carrie Thompson, Anna Tsantir, Sean Connaughty, and Nate Young.

XYandZ Gallery / 3258 Minnehaha Ave S / Minneapolis, MN 55406

www.thexyandz.com

Unreliable Narrators at Creative Alliance

If you're going to be in Baltimore anytime between November 10 and December 23, please stop by Creative Alliance to see Unreliable Narrators, a show I'm in with four other talented artists.

Opening Reception:
Thursday, Nov 10, 6-8pm. FREE

On View: 
Nov 10 - Dec 23 2011

At its most basic, art has always been about storytelling, from cave painters describing a hunt for food to church frescoes narrating the lives of saints. As technology has quickened the pace, however, the nature of storytelling has changed. Lives are broadcast to the world through blogs, vlogs, tweets, and posts; even the news is packaged and sold as “stories,” with editorial agendas often barely disguised. In this cacophony of subjectivity, it’s now assumed that there are two sides (at least) to every story. In a world like this, who knows what to believe?

Artists, Megan Hildebrandt, Sara Holwerda, Sarah Kelly, Ellen Mueller, and Christine Sajecki play in this new landscape of storytelling, adding a few nails to the coffin of the “official” voice, jumping off the diving board of satire, and perhaps – just perhaps – suggesting that art offers the best way through. Artists, after all, have long embraced subjectivity, fortified with skill and self-awareness.

Photos from Micromanagement Performance

Images from my performance of "Navigating a Riot" at "Micromanagement," an evening of performance curated by Sean Fletcher and Isabel Reichert Oct 15, 2011 at the Performance Art Institute in San Francisco.  Video coming soon!

9/11 Memorial Exhibit

If you will be in Reading PA between November 6 and December 15th, swing by the Freyberger Gallery on the Penn State Berks campus.  Five of my Practical Preparedness videos will be on view.

In honoring the 10th Anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, and the heroes who have fallen, the families torn apart, and those volunteers who gave hours of their time to help, the Freyberger Gallery, Penn State Berks is hosting a multi-venue exhibition.

Part 1: Crises/Reaction (Sept. 11 through Oct. 20) and

Part 2: Response/Healing (Nov. 6 through Dec. 16, 2011).

Over 80 artists submitted work for the exhibition with 40 selected. The Jewish Community Center located at 1100 Berkshire Blvd., and Penn State Lehigh Valley are partnering to exhibit work for this important event.  Refreshments will be served at the reception on Sunday Nov. 6, at 4 p.m. where guest speakers will include:

Loren Ellis, founder and director, Art for Healing, NYC
Dr. Jennifer Hillman, Professor of Psychology, to discuss PTS, causes, symptoms, healing  

Diana Kurz , exhibiting artist on the healing power of animals        
Dr. Bill Ellis, PSU Emeritus, to entertain the role of humor in healing 

Nov 6 - Dec 16

Freyberger Gallery

Penn State Berks

Tulpehocken Rd

Reading PA 19610

The Billboard Art Project - New Orleans

Three detail shots of moites from Book of Enid will be featured on a billboard in New Orleans LA between: 

Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 12 a.m. and 

Friday, November 18that 11:59 p.m.

That's four weeks of art interspersed among advertising at
Pontchartrain Expressway, east bound, just after South Claiborne Avenue. See map 

For every one frame of artwork, five frames of advertising will appear. 

If you or anyone you know is in New Orleans, I would LOVE to get a video and/or some still photos of my work up on the billboard. Shoot me an email if you think you can help: ellen@ellenmueller.com

Thanks!

Have you heard of The Billboard Art Project?

The Billboard Art Project LLC is a nonprofit organization that acquires digital billboards normally used for advertising and repurposes them as roadside galleries. Projects are held in cities all over the country and are open to all individuals and groups who are interested in participating.

Types of work that may be displayed include images created specifically for the billboard as well as images of previously made art adapted to the format. No two Billboard Art Project shows are alike; each city features new work.

Micromanagement at The Performance Art Institute

Awesome news: I'm going to be performing my practical preparedness character LIVE in San Francisco on Oct 15 at the Performance Art Institute.  Find the press release below:

The Performance Art Institute of San Francisco presents:
An evening of 16 experimental performance artists with an overbearing interest in their audience

San Francisco, CA – conceptual artist duo Sean Fletcher and Isabel Reichert present MICROMANAGEMENT, an evening of performative artworks by 16 artists from around the world. Artists participating in the exhibition include CNS (Mabel Negrete and Timothy E Robertson II), Jordan Essoe, Peter Foucault, Jennifer Gwirtz, Barbara Kristoff, Anya Liftig, Cheryl Meeker and Dan Spencer, Ellen Mueller, Naomi Sex, Ann Marie Stoehr, Merav Tzur, Kathryn Williamson, Kathrine Worel, and Gordon Winiemko. 

Micromanagement is characterized by close observation and control over someone else’s work, frequently accompanied by an acute focus on minor details, to the point where it often seems more an matter of control than the successful realization of a project. The artists of MICROMANAGEMENT will spend the evening “observing, controlling, attending to minutia, and insisting on results.” These artists impose double binds, they question our competence, they exploit our fears, they set us up to fail. Through performances, temporary installations, and sound works, the artists in MICROMANAGEMENT provide a dynamic evening of work that is compulsive, manipulative, overbearing, and always completely brilliant.

Ellen Mueller delivers a “Practical Preparedness” demonstration speech and guides the audience through the proper way to navigate a mob situation. Peter Foucault manipulates a small sensor-activated artist/robot using sound and percussion. Gordon Winiemko edits, rewrites, rephrases, and “micromanages” the efforts of curators Sean and Isabel, for a contribution that is in dialogue with the event itself.

MICROMANAGEMENT -- One night only!  Free admission!

Saturday, October 15th -- Doors: 7:30pm, Performances: 8:00pm 

(estimated running time: 2 hours)

Seating is limited -- first-come/first-serve.

The Performance Art Institute

575 Sutter Street

San Francisco, California

Return to Sender at Tempus Projects

I have a drawing in the upcoming exhibition, "Return to Sender," at Tempus Projects in Tampa FL.  All the artists included in this exhibit received beautifully printed square postcards, created a drawing or other artwork on them, and returned them to Tempus Projects.

Opening Reception:

Friday, Sept 16, 2011 at 8pm

On view by appointment Sept 16-30, 2011

Exhibiting artists include:
George Anderton, Kienan James Almeida, Linda Armstrong, The Art Guys, Bradley Arthur, Ariel Baron-Robbins, Neil Bender, Harvey Benschoter, Dylan Berry, Mikel Bisbee-Durlam, George Blakely, Tate Bunker, Roger Chamieh, Jeremy Chandler, Jiarra Chiang, Elisabeth Condon, Jesse Cregar, Suzanne Camp Crosby, Edgar Sanchez Cumbas, Shara DeWitt, David Diaz, William Downs, Ljiljana Edmiston, Lyman Edwards, Erica Ellis, Leslie Elsasser, Sarah Emerson, Zesch Fallon, Cor Andrew Fahringer, Becky Flanders, Kendra Frorup, Ilse Padilla Fisher, Jeff Gibbons, Edward Gillum, Joe Griffith, Daniel Georges, Gregory Green, Scott Groeniger, Allen Hampton, Holly Hanessian, Lisa Harasiuk, Tyler Jopek, Carolina Sardi, Mario Schambon, Don Sizemore, Rebecca Skelton, Ryann Slauson, Alexis Kleinbard, Ina Kaur, Gabriel Kudela, R Land, Robbie Land, Robert Lawrence, Rory Laven, Terri Lindbloom, George Long, Diran Lyons, Ann-Marie Manker, Lynn Manos, Cynthia Mason, Mark Mothersbaugh, Eric McCafferty, Ellen Mueller, Justin Myers, Justin Nelson, Ashley Niven, Kym O'Donnell, David Packer, Roger Palmer, Sam Parker, Kurt Piazza, Bianca Pratorius, Jim Reiman, Babs Reingold, Herman Reller, Jim Roche, Erica Rohman, Cornel Rubino, John F. Russell, Shannon Richie-Lindsey, Edwin Smalling, Brian Taylor, Joe Tsambiras, Kevin Tsoiasue, Rumi Tsuda, Nichole Van Beek, Stephanie Wadman, Kirk Wang, Julie Weitz, Theo Wujick SP, Rob Yulfo, Anthony Zollo

CNN.com 9/11 Ripple Project

Just wanted to share some exciting news! The CNN.com 9/11 Ripple Project is featuring one of my Practical Preparedness videos.

It is the 4th piece under "The Absurdity" tab, and it can take a moment to load.
Each day for the next 4 days, they will be adding more artists to the gallery under different topic tabs, so check back each day to see even more artwork.

The Billboard Art Project - Chicago

Four detail shots of fitcilitators from Book of Enid will be featured on a billboard in Chicago IL between: 

Monday, September 26, 2011 at 12 a.m. and

Sunday, October 23rd at 11:59 p.m. 

That's four weeks of art interspersed among advertising at
East Bound Interstate 90 just after the highway crosses over Oakton Street. See map

For every one frame of artwork, five frames of advertising will appear. 

If you or anyone you know is in Chicago, I would LOVE to get a video and/or some still photos of my work up on the billboard. Shoot me an email if you think you can help: ellen@ellenmueller.com

Thanks!

Have you heard of The Billboard Art Project?

The Billboard Art Project LLC is a nonprofit organization that acquires digital billboards normally used for advertising and repurposes them as roadside galleries. Projects are held in cities all over the country and are open to all individuals and groups who are interested in participating.

Types of work that may be displayed include images created specifically for the billboard as well as images of previously made art adapted to the format. No two Billboard Art Project shows are alike; each city features new work.

A Decade On: Artists Respond to 9/11 at the Playwright's Center

As a part of A Short Play About 9/11 written & directed by Dominic Orlando, the Workhaus Collective in Minneapolis MN will be putting up an exhibit entitled, A Decade On: Artists Respond to 9/11.

The exhibition will be Sept 11 - 24, 2011 at the Playwright's Center. 

Artists include:

Anna Leahy

Ellen Mueller

Jessica Turtle

The opening reception for the visual art is at 7pm on Sept 11th, 2011.

The play starts at 8pm, and is funny from what I hear!  

Tickets are pay-what-you-can (suggested donation $18)
The play will be followed by a comedy after-party, with stand-up by Brian Beatty and “Paige & Erin: 9/11,” written & performed by Paige Collette & Erin Search-Wells, directed by Maren Ward.

Playwrights’ Center

2301 East Franklin Ave 

Minneapolis MN 55406

This exhibition is a great chance for those in the Minnesota area to get a glimpse of some of my Practical Preparedness videos.

Photos of Duluth Billboard Project

Exciting news!  The Billboard Art Project photographed my entire series of "Greetings From Tampa" drawings on the electronic billboard in Duluth.

Colorado State University-Pueblo Artist-in-Residence

Monday marks the first day of classes at CSU-Pueblo where I am currently an Artist-in-Residence / Visiting Assistant Professor for 2011-2012.  I'll be teaching a seminar in performance, drawing I, and an art appreciation course - I can't wait!  I thought I'd post some photos of my new location:

View of the Art Building

The Art Department's sunken courtyard

I walked in the building, to see these displays about me when I arrived!  Kinda surreal.

Door to my studio

Left half of the studio as seen from the doorway

Right half of the studio as seen from the door

View of Pueblo from above the courtyard

I like to go eat lunch by this cool fountain.

My office (pretty empty right now...)

Tampa's Neighborhood Watch: A Projection Walk

Neighborhood Watch will take place Saturday, August 27 in Hampton Terrace (link to map) a division of Seminal Heights Neighborhood in Tampa FL. The walk will begin at 1400 Comanche, and wrap around to 1221 Powhattan. This is a one-night-only art exhibition running 8:30 PM - 11:30 PM. Admission is free.

For one night only, Hampton Terrace is transformed into an alternative exhibition space. Various forms of Fine Art will be projected throughout the neighborhood.  Over 25 local, national, and international artists will be featured in this exhibition.

Featured Artists include Felici Ancatar, Toni Danette Billick, Jaime Bird, The Church of Holy Colors, Michael Covello, Vanessa Diaz, JD Durham, Stephen Ellis, Dave End, Kale Roberts, Robb Fladry, Adam Hill, Aaron Hutcheson, Reiko Kawahara, Vincent Kral, Sarah Krupp, Culture Laboratory, Ben Lewis, Chalice Mitchell, Desiree Moore, Ellen Mueller, Brinson Renda, Selina Roman, Noah Simblist, Kirk Ke Wang, and many more.

Both my Practical Preparedness videos and the Book of Enid will be projected at this Neighborhood Watch.  

The Neighborhood Watch was originally designed after the classical all American drive-in theatre, and aimed to share art by creating an accessible space outside of the traditional museum setting. For the past five years this event has been exchanging and projecting artwork in various neighborhoods and in multiple countries. Participating countries are Bhutan, Australia, France, Mexico and cities in the United States including Tampa Florida. The Neighborhood Watch is a global simultaneous one-night event of projected art, performance, and sculpture brought to your own lawn.

The Billboard Art Project - Duluth MN

Have you heard of The Billboard Art Project? 

The Billboard Art Project LLC is a nonprofit organization that acquires digital billboards normally used for advertising and repurposes them as roadside galleries. Projects are held in cities all over the country and are open to all individuals and groups who are interested in participating.

Types of work that may be displayed include images created specifically for the billboard as well as images of previously made art adapted to the format. No two Billboard Art Project shows are alike; each city features new work.

My recent series, Greetings From Tampa, will be featured on a billboard in Duluth MN on

Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 12 a.m. to 

Sunday, August 21st at 11:59 p.m.
Link to Facebook Event

Find the billboard at the intersection of 

E Central Entrance & S Blackman Avenue, Duluth, MN, 55811 (south east corner). See map
See this list of all the artists being shown on the Duluth billboard.

My work will be up for about 4.8 minutes at a time (36 stills - 8 seconds each), and they say it will repeat three to eight times during the course of the weekend.  

If you or anyone you know is in Duluth, I would LOVE to get a video and/or some still photos of my work up on the billboard.  Shoot me an email if you think you can help: ellen@ellenmueller.com

Thanks!

Videoholica in Bulgaria

Anybody going to Bulgaria around August 5-12?  Two of my Practical Preparedness videos will be included in the Videoholica International Video Art Festival 2011 in Varna, Bulgaria. I wish I could go!

Paradoxes in Video 2

If anyone is going to be in San Diego on July 9th, be sure to check out this exhibition, which will feature a few of my Practical Preparedness videos.

Saturday, July 9, 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Paradoxes in Video 2
Garage
4141 Alabama Street
San Diego, CA

“Paradox” investigates the contradictions between documentary and performance, fact and fiction, order & chaos. What is real and what is staged? The absurdity of real life, the ambiguity of movement and the enigma of space are some of the perceptions raised in “Paradox”. 1500 submissions have been screened and the selection showcase will take place 07/09/2011 from 7pm-9pm. Go ahead and mark it as an international event within global proportions.

Artists:
Arthur Tuoto
Ellen Lake
Ellen Mueller
Eric Knowles
Ezra Wube
Kim Engelen
Mel Edelman
Nisha Duggal
Richard Gleaves
Toby Kaufmann Buhler
John Anthony
Yoni Goldstein
Angela Washko
Neil Ira Neddleman
Cara Marisa Deleon
Benjamin Funke
Shahar Marcus
Lauren Marsden

Mapping Exhibition

If you're going to be in Portland, Oregon on Friday, June 17, 2011, then be sure to swing by the 100th Monkey Studio to check out three pieces from my latest series, "Greetings From Tampa."

This series explores various aspects of Tampa's geography and culture. During my time in Tampa, I experienced both expected and unexpected shifts in social constructs, transportation, climate, and environment. In attempting to map Tampa via memory and isolated imagery, I focus on non-monumental landmarks, such as House of Meats and Red Lobster, as well as ephemeral items including road kill and glimpses of roller coasters. Comparisons arise between tourist culture and run-down commercial areas, waterfowl and sign-spinners, and strip malls and palm trees, all of which coexist on a daily basis.

Mapping

June 17 – July 31, 2011, click here for hours

Opening Reception:

6:00-9:00pm on June 17, 2011

Free and open to the public.

100th Monkey Studio

110 SE 16th Ave
Portland, Oregon 97214

Tampa Series

I'm not sure what the title of this series is yet, but it's exploring the various facets of Tampa, FL.  Rollercoaster, tollbooths, waterbirds, House of Meats, roadkill, Red Lobster, and so on...

Vermont Studio Center

I've been in Johnson, Vermont for a whole week already!  I'm here for a 4-week artist residency with Vermont Studio Center.  It's been a really great experience so far.  All our needs are attended to - they feed us amazing food 3 times a day, there's a linen service, and they provide fun distractions in the form of artist slide nights, visiting artist talks, and writer reading nights.

I basically get up, eat breakfast, work in the studio, eat lunch, work in an office for 2 hours (that's my work-study job), and then make more work before dinner, eat, then work into the evening or go to whatever events are happening.  There are about 50 artists and writers here, so I'm meeting all kinds of interesting people.

If I get antsy, I can go for a beautiful walk (it is Vermont after all).  If you're interested in more photos, check out this album.  I'll post pics of the drawings I'm working on soon.

2nd Annual West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival

If you're going to be in Morgantown, WV on May 1st, swing by the Gluck Theater of the WVU Mountainlair to see my video, "Communicating with Media and Authorities After a Crisis."  This video is a part of my Practical Preparedness Series, and has been selected for the 2nd Annual West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival.


Communicating with Media and Authorities After a Crisis from Ellen Mueller on Vimeo.

My video will be on view during the May 1st, 10:15 pm - 1:00 am slot.
Gluck Theater of the WVU Mountainlair

1550 Maiden Lane

Morgantown, WV 26506

Established in 2010, The West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival celebrates exceptional, compelling, original and innovative works in film, video and animation. Its primary mission is to help foster creative approaches to these media and to expose West Virginia University students and the surrounding Morgantown community to the world of independent filmmaking. The festival also strives to highlight issues and themes that help define contemporary culture and experience in West Virginia and the surrounding Appalachian region.

"In the Waiting Room" Performance

Here are some pics for those who couldn't make it on Friday to the "In the Waiting Room" performance/reading of "Book of Enid."

"Book of Enid" Solo Exhibition at the Centre Gallery

If you haven't made it out to the USF Centre Gallery yet, you still have 5 days to catch my solo exhibition, "Book of Enid," which will stay up through Friday, April 15, 2011.  This is one of the only chances you'll have to check out the original drawings from the book.

Centre Gallery is located in room 2700 on the second floor of USF’s Marshall Student Center.  Gallery hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Admission is free.