Image: Monte Laster,Installation of A wood sculpture base for live performance, "La voix humaine" OBA II Project 2014, Paris, France, Palais de Tokyo Center for Contemporary Art, video still
STORYTELLER
Interactive multimedia installation, size variable
Collection of 200, 3-5 minute filmed 'Story 1-200"' sequences organized and distributed by a bespoke algorithm.
"Sometimes reality is too complex. Stories give it form."
-Jean-luc Godard`
Following OBA (Our Better Angels) I in New York and OBA II in Paris and La Courneuve, OBA III took shape as the CO-OP project. This social sculpture and performative think tank was created by Monte Laster in 2013 at the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas.
The project was developed in collaboration with FACE USA, the Consulate General of France in Houston, TFAA, and Quancard Contemporary Art. It brought together stakeholders, community representatives, associations, and institutions in Houston to explore interculturality rather than multiculturalism, focusing on the intersections between cultures in everyday life and their contemporary challenges. Presented as a furniture installation conducive to open exchange, the installation featured a meditation cushion in the center of the chapel. Many participants were meeting for the first time, building new bridges between communities. A roundtable discussion facilitated the collective development of visions around intercultural dialogue and exchange. The project combined art, spirituality, activism, and social engagement, collectively questioning the role of contemporary art in cultural identity and urban revitalization. By creating a space for symbolic and human exchange, the work took the form of a video installation and a photographic series documenting these encounters and giving voice to what transpired in these different locations. Its methodology was subsequently adopted at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2014 and then with the Société du Grand Paris in 2017. OBA thus affirms art as a tool for social inquiry, dialogue, and collective transformation.
STORYTELLER
Installation multi-média interactive, taille variable
Collection de 200 séquences vidéo de 3 à 5 minutes, intitulées « Story 1-200 », organisées et diffusées par un algorithme spécialement conçu à cet effet.
"Parfois la réalité est trop complexe. Les histoires lui donnent une forme."
- Jean-luc Godard
Following OBA (Our Better Angels) I in New York and OBA II in Paris and La Courneuve, OBA III took shape as the CO-OP project. This social sculpture and performative think tank was created by Monte Laster in 2013 at the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas.
The project was developed in collaboration with FACE USA, the Consulate General of France in Houston, TFAA, and Quancard Contemporary Art. It brought together stakeholders, community representatives, associations, and institutions in Houston to explore interculturality rather than multiculturalism, focusing on the intersections between cultures in everyday life and their contemporary challenges. Presented as a furniture installation conducive to open exchange, the installation featured a meditation cushion in the center of the chapel. Many participants were meeting for the first time, building new bridges between communities. A roundtable discussion facilitated the collective development of visions around intercultural dialogue and exchange. The project combined art, spirituality, activism, and social engagement, collectively questioning the role of contemporary art in cultural identity and urban revitalization. By creating a space for symbolic and human exchange, the work took the form of a video installation and a photographic series documenting these encounters and giving voice to what transpired in these different locations. Its methodology was subsequently adopted at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2014 and then with the Société du Grand Paris in 2017. OBA thus affirms art as a tool for social inquiry, dialogue, and collective transformation.
Image: "Destinations, in Five Movements II" Commission for Dallas Symphony Orchestra / Nancy A Nasher Soluna Festival, in collaboration with Dallas Museum of Art 2015-2017, video still
