Michael Portnoy
The Society of Societies (A Room with New Rules) (2023)
Performance
Michael Portnoy, The Society of Societies (A Room with New Rules) (2023), performance (rehearsal), photo: steirischer herbst / Clara Wildberger
Michael Portnoy, The Society of Societies (A Room with New Rules) (2023), performance (rehearsal), photo: steirischer herbst / Clara Wildberger
Michael Portnoy, The Society of Societies (A Room with New Rules) (2023), performance, installation view, photo: steirischer herbst / kunst-documentation.com
The reinvention of human exchange is the main topic of Michael Portnoy’s riotous performative gathering in Graz’s Großer Minoritensaal. Drawing upon his signature absurdist breed of dictatorial participation, a salon-style evening leads participants through carnivalesque interactions governed by new sets of rules about speech, behavior, roles, and the production of meaning. The artist offers a foretaste of this on Mariahilferplatz during the festival’s opening.
Michael Portnoy (1971, Washington, DC, United States) comes from a background of dance and stand-up comedy. His performance-based work employs a variety of media—from participatory installations to sculpture, painting, writing, theater, video, and curating—and plays with the use of language and behavior, often to a brutally comic effect. His work has been shown, among others, at The Kitchen, New York; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Documenta 13, Kassel; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Witte de With, Rotterdam; Academy of the Arts of the World, Cologne; steirischer herbst ʼ18 and ʼ19; and Block Universe, London. He lives in New York.
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ʼ23
Michael Portnoy at Artist Talks
23.9., 13:30–14:30
22.9., 23.9., 22:00
Minoritenzentrum Graz (Großer Minoritensaal)
Mariahilferplatz 3
8020 Graz ♿
18/14 euros
In German and English
Duration: 90 min.
Performers: Moss Beynon Juckes, Kevin Bonono, Marcus McKenzie, Michael Portnoy, Alex Tatarsky, Kathleen Taylor
Harpsichord: Anna Kiskachi
Sound design: Antonia Manhartsberger
Costume and stage design: Katharina Heistinger
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ʼ23
Michael Portnoy at Artist Talks
23.9., 13:30–14:30
