In Performance: ‘As If Your Ears Were Hands’ by lucky dragons

Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles is excited to welcome lucky dragons for a durational performance of ‘As If Your Ears Were Hands’ in conjunction with ‘Calder: Nonspace.’ Within the gallery’s Courtyard, lucky dragons will perform a durational piece of music that speaks to the theme of 'nonspace’—where structure is used as a frame for what is uncertain, inaccessible or unknowable; where sound may fill a space without occupying it. The audience, provided with wireless headsets, are invited to experience the piece in multiple simultaneous ways, as they may choose: by listening directly to acoustic events happening in the space, or by selecting one of three discrete versions of these events broadcast live to wireless headsets. Whether choosing to hear sounds directly, indirectly, or to avoid hearing altogether, listening becomes a way of extending what can be seen or experienced directly, collapsing foreground and background, interior and exterior, public and private. Please note that this is a durational performance that occurs over the course of three hours. Guests are welcome to come anytime during the performance, however, there may be a wait for wireless headsets. This event is free, however, reservations recommended. Click here to register. About lucky dragons An ongoing collaboration between Los Angeles-based artists Sarah Rara and Luke Fischbeck, lucky dragons research forms of participation and dissent, purposefully working towards a better understanding of existing ecologies through performances, publications, recordings, and public art. lucky dragons have presented collaborative work in a wide variety of contexts, including REDCAT, LACMA, MOCA and The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, London’s Institute for Contemporary Art, The Kitchen and MoMA/PS1 in New York, the 54th Venice Biennale, Documenta 14, The Whitney Museum of American Art (as part of the 2008 Whitney Biennial), SFMOMA, and The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, among others. The name “lucky dragons” is borrowed from a fishing vessel that was caught in the fallout from H-bomb tests in the mid-1950s, an incident which sparked international outcry and gave birth to the worldwide anti-nuclear movement.  

  Photo: Amanda Kirkpatrick