Machine Project

June 30 - November 30, 2009

: Machine Project storefront. Photo by Michele Yu.; Give It To Me by Corey Fogel. Photo courtesy of Machine Project.; Emily Lacy performing in The Forest (The Forest installation by Christy McCaffrey and Sara Newey). Photo by Tom McCaffrey.; Machine Projects Electronic Workshop at Art LA 07. Photo by Scott Mayoral.; A Machine Project Field Guide to LACMA: Countercumulative Marcotting by Corey Fogel. Photo courtesy of Machine Project.; A Machine Project Field Guide to LACMA: Musical Elevators by Various Artists. Photo courtesy of Machine Project.; A Machine Project Field Guide to LACMA: Mission Control Bunker by Nate Page. Photo courtesy of Machine Project.

ABOUT THE RESIDENCY

Artist Mark Allen, founder of the nonprofit alternative art space Machine Project, and his collaborator, artist Liz Glynn, are current artists-in-residence at the Hammer Museum. Mark and Liz are spending the summer doing research for a yearlong series of artist-led interventions at the Hammer as part of the museum’s new Public Engagement Program. The Hammer recently received a grant from the James Irvine Foundation to establish the program, in which the museum invites an artist or artists’ group to develop programs and activities to engage the public in unconventional ways. The grant will enable the Hammer to create a new kind of interactive museum: an artist-driven visitor engagement and education program that encourages daily contact among visitors, artists, and museum staff and activates the spaces, exhibitions, and website in imaginative ways.

Since mid-June, Mark and Liz have been meeting with a variety of different artist collaborators at the museum and discussing ideas for potential activities and programs. They are also exploring the ways in which the physical facilities function and getting to know our staff, programs, and exhibitions. Starting in January 2010, Machine Project will begin organizing events and activities that reveal more about the inner workings of the Hammer Museum and also enhance the public’s understanding of the institution. In 2008 Machine Project presented a one-day event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art that involved a variety of activities and interventions. The project, titled “The Machine Project Field Guide to LACMA,” inspired the Hammer to invite Mark and his collaborators to be the first artists to participate in this new public engagement endeavor. Information about and images of “Field Guide” are available here: http://machineproject.com/lacma/ and http://web.mac.com/lacmaweb/iWeb/machineproject/home.html

Mark Allen is an artist, educator, and curator based in Los Angeles. He is the founder and executive director of Machine Project, a nonprofit performance and installation space investigating art, technology, natural history, science, music, literature, food, and whatever else humans like to do. Prior to opening Machine Project, he was involved with several alternative arts groups as a curator, board member, and director, and he cofounded the Los Angeles new-media collective c-level. He has taught at the California Institute of the Arts and the University of California, San Diego, and is currently an assistant professor of art at Pomona College. He also serves on the board of directors of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York and is a member of the Artist Advisory Board of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Mark received his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, following a residency with the Core Fellowship of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

Liz Glynn is a Los Angeles–based artist and frequent collaborator with Machine Project. Her work explores dynamic cycles of growth and destruction, with projects including The 24 Hour Roman Reconstruction Project and the Deforestation Squad with Nate Page. She was responsible for producing the “Machine Project Field Guide to LACMA” with Mark Allen. Her work has been presented at the New Museum, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Machine Project, Los Angeles; the REDCAT Lounge, Los Angeles; and other venues. Reviews of her work have appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Art Lies, Domus, and Archaeology Magazine. She has attended residencies at O’artoteca in Milan, and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. She received her MFA from California Institute of the Arts and her BA from Harvard College.

Machine Project is a nonprofit performance and installation space investigating art, technology, natural history, science, music, literature, and food. It presents events, workshops, and site-specific installations using hands-on engagement to make rarefied knowledge accessible. Beyond its storefront space, Machine Project operates as a loose confederacy of artists producing shows at locations ranging from the Santa Monica beach to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Machine Project was founded by Mark Allen and incorporated as an educational nonprofit in 2005.