Bodies, Birth, Death, Machines: Contemporary Art and Curatorial Practice

“Those are four immense things
We have in common
You could call it a bond, a braid or a knot.”

Using the U.S. Girls song “The Let Down” as a jumping off point, this ongoing research explores the practices of several contemporary artists who are grappling with themes of embodiment, mortality, and technology. In the form of an experimental curatorial proposal, the talk identifies connections between the artworks and the broader context of the current cultural zeitgeist. Through images, videos, and sound this presentation introduces formal and conceptual qualities employed by artists, in the hopes of weaving together some of the common threads that bind us.

Ellinee Rae Nelson (she/her) is a first year MA Critical Curatorial Studies student in the Department of Art History, Theory and Visual Art. She holds a BA in Art History from Columbia College Chicago where she also pursued the history and theory of photography, visual arts and exhibition management, and curation. She has held several positions in art museums, including her current role as curatorial assistant at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. Her current research interests include queer and feminist perspectives in contemporary art and theory, performance art, contemporary forms of iconoclasm, and institutional responsibility.