Elana Mann "Year of Wonders, redux"

Come visit Elana Mann's "Year of Wonders, redux."

The exhibition will close July 2, 2021.

With the new LA County reopening protocols, 18th Street Arts Center will now welcome walk-in visitors to view exhibitions at our Airport Campus (3026 Airport Ave, Santa Monica). Though we still encourage you to make an appointment for ease and convenience, it is no long required.

We are open Monday-Friday from 9-5 PM.

Please note that all visitors to 18SAC's campus must still wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status, in order to protect members of our artist community that live and work in the space. Please stay home if you are not feeling well.

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Year of Wonders, redux

Solo exhibition by Elana Mann

Airport Gallery

March 29 – July 2, 2021

Exhibition page: https://18thstreet.org/event/elana-mann-year-of-wonders-redux/

Related exhibition panel “Hungry Ears” featuring Sara Daleiden, Naomi Okuyama, Elana Mann, and April Banks will take place on April 8 at 5pm.

18th Street Arts Center is pleased to present Year of Wonders, redux, a solo exhibition of works by artist Elana Mann in 18th Street Arts Center’s Airport Gallery, on view from March 29 - July 2, 2021. The exhibition consists of sculptural folk instruments, video, and works on paper, created by the artist as part of an ongoing series of sono-sculptures since 2014. As is common in Mann’s practice, and in the history of folk music, these works reflect the time period in which they are made. Year of Wonders, redux was born out of the nation’s unfolding political changes, passionate social movements, and the global coronavirus pandemic. They acknowledge the manifold obstacles to our ever-present desire as human beings to be together.

The sculptural works in the exhibition were first created and exhibited in the fall of 2020 at Artpace, San Antonio, TX. These pieces are intended for use in protest spaces, and although each instrument functions differently, they all prioritize a range of sounds and body types to amplify the human voice.

Our work is never done (unfinished business) is modeled on the “Mega-kazoo-horn” originally made by the legendary folk music figure Charles Chase. Chase, grandfather to the folk musician Ben Harper, was an active communist and brought the instrument to local protests in his hometown of Claremont, CA, in the 1970s. The horn features six speaking tubes, rather than only one, therefore harnessing the power of the collective voice. Mann started the sculpture over a year ago, but in the social-distancing context of COVID-19, the object’s meaning and function have shifted. Rendered temporarily unusable as a musical instrument, it currently operates as more of a symbol of collective action. Mann hopes to employ the horn in future demonstrations and marches when it is once again safe to share.

Unidentified Bright Object 11–60 consists of 50 rattles, each made with a distinct turned wood handle and a cast ceramic top containing different sound-making materials. The ceramic tops are individually adorned with a variety of phrases, such as calls to action (e.g., “Say His Name/Say Her Name”), statements (“Truth”), celebrations of the collective (“People Power”), or onomatopoeia (“SSSSSS”). Viewers may engage with the rattles however they wish, either visually or by touch.

New video (created in collaboration with Mann’s partner, designer Jean-Paul Leonard) and works on paper expand the breadth of the sculptural works, revealing other facets of Mann’s exploration into listening, vibrations, and the human voice.

Year of Wonders, redux invites viewers to contemplate the relationships between the individual and community, sound and silence, protest and performance, and how these dyads connect to resistance, equity, and social justice.

[Caption: Elana Mann, Unidentified Bright Object #11-60, 2020. Ceramic, wood, metal, and glass. Photo by Beth Devillier. Both works originally commissioned and produced by Artpace San Antonio. Courtesy of the artist. ]