ANARCH-ETIQUETTE

ANARCH-ETIQUETTE
the etiquette of anarchy: preserving the writing on the wall

The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA Denver) and PlatteForum together with the Anthropology Department at the University of Denver are proud to announce the first American exhibition of Daniele Pario Perra. The exhibit compares and contrasts wall writings of spontaneous communication in the Denver metro area and also includes several examples from his previous work in Europe. This exhibition represents the second annual Confluence Project, a shared artist-in-residence program between MCA Denver and PlatteForum.
The exhibition title, ANARCH-ETIQUETTE is inspired by a series of action/public workshops demonstrating the removal and preservation of wall writings on public buildings before they are covered up or the buildings themselves are demolished or renovated. These writings are removed by the technique of fresco removal and then are transferred onto large canvas panels. The canvases become a means of preserving the contemporary thoughts and feelings expressed by the members of the community through wall writing. Since 2006, Pario Perra has been conducting Anarch-Etiquette and Fresco Removal workshops to preserve traces of spontaneous communication on city walls throughout Europe.

Anarch-Etiquette removes and preserves writings connected to the ideas of political parties and their inclinations, critical consumption, cultural and musical movements, among others. The project focuses on fields within the last few decades, which delineate the culture belonging to that specific place. Writings such as, GOD SHAVE THE QUEEN, MI CASA NO ES TU CASA, LIGHT CAMERA WAR, TV IS TANNING YOU, UN VOILE UNE VOIX UN VOTE, are examples of messages connected to the local issues in a specific community.

Anarch-Etiquette is not about the uniqueness of a single text on a wall but the collection of various writings, which reveal an understanding of the DNA of the city or area itself. It is a way to study the cultural behaviours in the city, collecting informal communications that reveal the differences between an unconscious visualization of single view and the perception of a global reality, which we identify in the  concept of identity. This dialogue can be seen as a sign of future thoughts and opinions, showing how the place will evolve according to the expressed needs of that society.

The project gives PlatteForum's ArtLab and MCA Denver's TeCo teens and the students from the Anthropology Department of the University of Denver the opportunity to do urban anthropological field work. They also engage in round table discussions about what they would like to conserve from their culture or not. The students learn the process of removal and preservation becoming guardians of the memories of the city, this allows the participants to conserve testimonies of an intangible heritage that would otherwise be eliminated.

Anarch-Etiquette would like to thank local partners who have been able to inform the project of where relevant writings could be found and removed before they were covered up or the building was demolished.

About The Confluence Project: PlatteForum Creative Residency MCA Denver is a strategic partnership between PlatteForum and MCA Denver. PlatteForum's Creative Resident will create new work lead Learning Lab workshops with teens. Students will research, create, install, and exhibit art projects side-by-side with the resident artist.

About ArtLab: the ArtLab program provides an integrated, substantive out-of-school arts opportunity for at-risk youth in our community. It is a yearlong intensive youth development and training program, utilizing the arts, mentorship and learning to reach underserved Denver area youth aged 14 – 19 years.  The program is funded in part by YouthReach the Colorado Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, St Mary Land & Exploration and Land Title Guarantee Corporation.

About TeCo: Teen Council (TeCo) is a selected group of energetic and creative high school students that intern at the MCA Denver to create programming and events for teens. TeCos also interact with leading artists in a collaborative environment, creating work and gaining unparalleled insight about art. Teen Council is sponsored in part by the Fox Family.

About PlatteForum: every good life is built on a handful of epiphanies - moments of deep insight when the light comes on and you see what is possible for you. PlatteForum teams contemporary artists with small groups of young people from underserved urban neighborhoods to plan, produce and exhibit a collaborative body of work. PlatteForum was created to answer the critical need for learning through the arts for Denver's underserved and at-risk youth. In doing so, PlatteForum gives kids a chance to work side by side with master artists who model the outlook and skills required to build a productive and satisfying life.

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
Fox Family Idea Box
1485 Delgany St.
Denver, Colorado USA
Opening Friday May 6, 2011
May 6 - 29, 2011
tuesday / sunday 10 am - 6 pm
friday until 10 pm
www.mcadenver.org

www.platteforum.org

www.mcadenver.org
press@anarchetiquette.org
 
Special thank you to Christina Kreps/DU, Guerilla Garden, Jolt /Jeremy Ulibarri, Mary Valdez /City of Denver, Contributes by: Francesco Rovella /Galleria Carta Bianca, Andrea Caputo /All City Writers, Alicia Velazquez /In Transition, Julie Upmeyer /Caravansarai, Roberto Tos /Rewriting, Katja Diallo, Jan Kryszons /Noordkaap Foundation, Alexander Vollebregt /TU Delft, Andrea Bartoli /Farm Cultural Park, Loredana Longo, Cristina Ampatzidou, Roberto De Luca, Filippo Leonardi, Leo Micali, and the Denver community for their support of this exhibition. The fresco removal video is by Jeanne van der Horst.