MEET ME AT THE EAGLE
Meet me at the Eagle
HD video, color, sound, 7min 41sec, 2012
Installation_harmonium, carpet, trophy, poster, dimensions variable, 2014
A harmonium installed at the entrance of the exhibition space as a prelude to Yi's works, inducing the audience to fully immerse themselves in the artist's fictionalized world. Yi interweaves information, text, historical events and myths into plausible realities; her interactions with the characters and her responses to the unfolding series of events convey her own expectations, desires and limitations.
The video component of this installation is filmed at Macy’s department store in Philadelphia, which has the largest working pipe organ in the world, still performed twice every office day. The actors in the video sing and dance, interacting with customers and staff, while the organ music resonates on all the Macy’s floors. Yi mixes real-life events with narratives from her memories of movies and music in Philadelphia in the editing of the video, and these threads circulate between the performers and the musical instruments.
Not only do Yi’s videos play off dualities, but her installations also provoke viewers to question where the performance ends and reality begins. She uses this instrument to transform a public space into an “invisible theater,” where spectators are actors, and the space itself is a musical instrument.
Video Credit
Appearance: Midori Okuyama, Um Insung, Yi Yunyi
Music:
"Carmen Suit No. 2" written by Georges Bizet (Live recording of Wanamaker Organ Daily Concert)
"La Mama Morta" sung by Maria Callas in the movie, <Philadelphia, 1993>
Video Excerpt:
Tom Hanks and Josh Baskin play on the Big Piano in the movie, <Big, 1988>
on the occasion of Yi Yunyi's solo exhibition, <A Round Turn and Two Half-Hitches>, Jun 20 - July 27 2014, Insa Art Space, 89 Changdeokgung-gill, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea
Screening History
6/20/2014 - 7/27/2014, Insa Art Space, Seoul, Korea
5/16/2012 - 6/16/2012, Hunter College / Times Square Gallery, New York, USA