Aviva Silverman



Door of Breath II, 2024

G-Scale Train Tracks, RGB Pixel Strip, Enttec Driver, Computer,

450 x 364 cm

Detail

Door of Breath II, 2024

G-Scale Train Tracks, RGB Pixel Strip, Enttec Driver, Computer,

450 x 364 cm


Door of Breath II, 2024

G-Scale Train Tracks, RGB Pixel Strip, Enttec Driver, Computer,

450 x 364 cm


ANGELIC HOSTS, Nylon 12 versatile plastic, Headphones, Hand dyed silk, 2023

A manifestation of the digital collection of the NYC Trans Oral History Project, here Aviva Silverman suspends 36 auditory excerpts from 36 narrators - stories bridging time and space, reaching towards Olam ha Ba (Hebrew for “The World that is Coming,” understood to be a world of harmony, peace and justice.) The number 36 has particular relevance Jewish numerology, and is often referred to as the number of supreme holiness. This connotation connects to the concept of the LAMED VAV ZADDIKIM (Heb. ל״ו צַדִּיקִים, "36) - the 36 people born in each generation, capable of restoring the world to wholeness from chaos. These individuals have unique capacities to perceive the Divine Presence dwelling in all things; it is said that the world exists on their merit. According to G. Scholem, this theory is drawn from the astrological belief in 36 celestial decans, each of which rules ten days of the year and, thus, ten degrees of the constellations. Visitors are invited to hold these illuminated orbs, each containing a unique story, connecting the listener to the legacy illuminated through the collection.

ANGELIC HOSTS, Nylon 12 versatile plastic, Headphones, Hand dyed silk, 2023

ANGELIC HOSTS, Nylon 12 versatile plastic, Headphones, Hand dyed silk, 2023

ANGELIC HOSTS, Nylon 12 versatile plastic, Headphones, Hand dyed silk, 2023



Door of Breath 2023

Felt, LED’s, miniature train tracks

400 x 160 cm

Door of Breath

Felt, LED’s, miniature train tracks

400 x 160 cm


The Escort (homage to Dog with a Human Face 200 AD)

3D FDM print Technopolymer HD, acrylics, bluetooth speaker

60 x 33 x 50 cm

The Escort (homage to Dog with a Human Face 200 AD)

3D FDM print Technopolymer HD, acrylics, bluetooth speaker

60 x 33 x 50 cm


A HOUSE CAN’T FLOOD THAT NEVER GETS BUILT

https://www.spazioveda.it/

Other People’s Dreams, 2022

Upholstery fabric, model train tracks

980 x 490 cm


The Perceiver (homage to Dog with a Human Face 200 AD), 2022

3D FDM print Technopolymer HD, acrylics, bluetooth speaker

60 x 33 x 50 cm



Earthbound, 2022

Upholstery fabric, miniature train tracks

232 x 122 cm



Queen City Special, 2020

Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Denmark

Photo: David Stjernholm





A Flower Cannot Exist Alone, 2022

Suitcase, tiles, fabric, transparency, LED, miniature figurines (likeness of artist, angels, dresser, cups)

52.07 x 40.64 x 40.64 cm


We Have Decided Not to Die, 2019

Veda, Florence


Buried in the moon, 2019

blown glass

40 x 50 x 30 cm


Submission Reliquary, 2021, SOX, Berlin

Mixed media, 25''x10''x19''


The Living Watch Over the Living ii, 2019

Volksbuehne, Berlin

more information





My Spirit, Take Care, 2019

Cyanotype, cotton

94 × 44 3/10 in

238.8 × 112.5 cm

installation at Material Fair, Mexico City with Veda


Brotherhood Begins in Shared Pain, 2019

plastic religious figurines

8.5 x 7.5 x 3''


Ghosts in Need of Assistance III, 2019

Resin, quartzite paint, earth pigments, buckwheat hulls, velvet

12.5 x 45 x 20,5 in (31.75 x 114.3 x 52 cm)

detail of Ghosts in Need of Assistance III

Ghosts in Need of Assistance II, 2019

Resin, quartzite paint, earth pigments, brass

42 x 29 x 30 in (106.66 x 73.66 x 76.2 cm)

detail of Ghosts in Need of Assistance II


Ghosts in Need of Assistance I, 2019

Resin, quartzite paint, earth pigments, glass cupping therapy set, taxidermied squirrel

42 x 36 x 34,5 in (106.66 x 91.44 x 34.5 cm)

detail of Ghosts in Need of Assistance I


Every Exit is an Entrance, 2019

Miniature lighting equipment, sheep, farmer, vellum, wood paneling, carpet, plexi, LED

16 x 14 x 11 in (38.1 x 35.56 x 27.94 cm)

detail of Every Exit is an Entrance


Purgatory, 2019

Plastic religious figurines, taxidermied birds, (European starlings), resin

32 x 20 x 20 in (81.28 x 50.8 x 50.8 cm)

detail of Purgatory

detail of Purgatory

Protect Me from What I Am, installation view, Swiss Institute, New York

Press Release

The Mirror of Simple Souls Who are Annihilated and Remain Only in Will and Desire of Love, 2018. Light-boxes, plastic religious figurines 48 x 149 x 7 in (121.9 x 378.5 x 17.8 cm)

The Mirror of Simple Souls Who are Annihilated and Remain Only in Will and Desire of Love, 2018, detail

The Mirror of Simple Souls Who are Annihilated and Remain Only in Will and Desire of Love, 2018, detail

The Mirror of Simple Souls Who are Annihilated and Remain Only in Will and Desire of Love, 2018, detail

The Mirror of Simple Souls Who are Annihilated and Remain Only in Will and Desire of Love, 2018, detail

The Mirror of Simple Souls Who are Annihilated and Remain Only in Will and Desire of Love, 2018, detail

The Mirror of Simple Souls Who are Annihilated and Remain Only in Will and Desire of Love, 2018, detail

Protect Me from What I Am, installation view

repatriation of the aura, 2018. Blown glass, wooden prayer hands. 5 1/2 x 3 4/5 x 3 in (14 x 10 x 8 cm

The Shadow of a Shadow, 2018. Security glass, wood, mirror, LED lights, canvas, taxidermied birds (Dove and Crow), stained glass window. 50 x 50 x 96 in (127 x 127 x 243.8 cm)

The Shadow of a Shadow, 2018. Security glass, wood, mirror, LED lights, canvas, taxidermied birds (Dove and Crow), stained glass window. 50 x 50 x 96 in (127 x 127 x 243.8 cm)


Protect Me from What I Am, installation view


Assimilation, 2018. Plastic religious figurines, taxidermied birds (Gouldian Finch, Blue Dacnis, Cordon bleu Finch, Strawberry Finch), wooden wreath. 50 x 38 x 38 in (127 x 96.5 x 96.5 cm)

Assimilation, 2018, detail

Assimilation, 2018, detail

Accepting the Shadow, 2018. Security glass, wood, plastic religious figurines, LED lights, velvet. 22 x 36 x 14 in (55.9 x 91.4 x 35.6 cm)

Accepting the Shadow, 2018, detail

Accepting the Shadow, 2018, detail

Entering Heaven Alive

Bodega, NYC, 2018

Shrinking World, 2018

Bronze, pearls, brass chain

20 x 29 x 7 in

Restraint is Support, 2018

Security glass, wood, ceramic figurines, strings, rubber, wires, electrical parts, LED lighting, mylar

36 x 22 x 14 in

Entering Heaven Alive, 2018

Glass, phosphor coating, xenon

Made by Wayne Strattman

26 x 9 x 4.5 in

The Custodian, 2018

Digital C-print, chrome frame

13 x 18 in

Service Destiny, 2018

Ceramic angel figurine, miniature hand mirror

5 x 3 x 2.5 in

To Exist is to Survive Unfair Choices, 2018

Hand blown glass bird, Raggedy Ann doll, LED

6 x 25 x 14 in

You are you, and I am I, 2018

Plywood, silver and gold leaf, hinges, mirrors

11.5 x 11.25 x 11.5 in

Attention is the beginning of devotion, Veda, Florence, 2017

Blown glass, copper wire, chains wood, watercolors

(L) Figurine,150 x 45 x 40 cm ; 59 x 17 x 15 inch; Bird figurine, 55 x 45 x 13 cm| 21 x 17 x 5 inch; (R) Figurine, 140 x 45 x 40 cm | 55 x 17 x 15 inch; Mural, 300 cm ø | 118 inch ø

Attention is the beginning of devotion, 2017

Blown glass, copper wire, chains wood, watercolors


(detail)

Bird figurine, 55 x 45 x 13 cm| 21 x 17 x 5 inch


Figurine,150 x 45 x 40 cm ; 59 x 17 x 15 inch

Figurine, 140 x 45 x 40 cm | 55 x 17 x 15 inch


The living watch over the living, 2017

Inkjet print

83 x 73 cm | 32 x 28 inch

The living watch over the living, 2017

Inkjet print

83 x 73 cm | 32 x 28 inch

Cable bouquet, 2017

Marine optic cable

51 x 7 x 4 cm | 20 x 3 x 1,5 inch

Cable bouquet, 2017

Marine optic cable

51 x 7 x 4 cm | 20 x 3 x 1,5 inch

yom asal yom basal, Sommer Contemporary, TLV, 2018


yom asal yom basal

Panasonic AM/FM radio, General Electric AM/FM radio

6 x 36 x 36 in (91.4 x 91.4 x 91.4 cm)

stranger tenant I

Blown glass, light fixture

9.8 x 15.4 in (25 x 39 cm)

stranger tenant II

Blown glass, light fixture

9.1 x 13.8 in (23 x 35 cm)

stranger tentant III

Blown glass, light fixture

15.7 x 14.2 in (40 x 36 cm)


fallen (passing the light to lower levels)

Cyanotype and dye on linen

36 x 27 in (91.4 x 68.6 cm)

fallen (passing the light to lower levels)

Cyanotype and dye on linen

36 x 27 in (91.4 x 68.6 cm)

repatriation of the aura

Blown glass, wooden prayer hands

5.5 x 3.9 x 3.1 in (14 x 10 x 8 cm)


Solastalgia, 2018

Galvanized metal wash tub, cast iron

claw feet, ram horn sailboat, ceramic,

oak, resin, LED, plexiglass

30 x 27 x 12 in (76.2 x 68.6 x 30.5 cm)

Energy Removal (Perishability of the Natural World), 2018

Atomic lamp, porcelain water

62.5 x 15 x 21 in (158.8 x 38.1 x 53.3 cm)


Poly (energetic receivers)

Radios, audio cable

Dimensions variable


Cradle of Reassembly

Security glass, wood, PLA, miniature theater chairs, LED lighting

36 x 22 x 14 in

Cradle of Reassembly


Little Big Man, 2016

Wood, nylon, led light strip, hand tooled western saddle

118 x 36 x 36 inches

Little Big Man, Ellis King, Dublin, Ireland, 2016

Little Big Man reimagines the contemporary myth of the Internet, recasting Mark Zuckerberg as a dissatisfied cowboy seeking love and fulfillment within a menagerie of Wild Western sets and characters. Unlucky in love—and preternaturally gifted with computers—Mark pairs up with a mysterious soothsayer known as The Master, who offers him counseling in exchange for a share in Mark’s new business venture. But as he begins to learn The Master can’t give him everything he wants, Mark discovers an unlikely, impassioned new self in the song-and-dance hootenany of Irving Berlin’s musical classic, “Annie Get Your Gun!” 

Further reading

Trailer

Audio recording of play


Debt Collector (Tomorrow Always Comes), 2016

Copper coil, plaster, cotton gloves, sisal, ornamental brocade trim, fabric, roulette gambling wheel, (with Jeannine Han)

30w x 60h x 18d in.

The Debt Collector (Tomorrow Always Comes), 2016

Copper coil, plaster, cotton gloves, sisal, ornamental brocade trim, fabric, roulette gambling wheel, (with Jeannine Han)

30w x 60h x 18d in.

The Debt Collector (Tomorrow Always Comes), 2016

Copper coil, plaster, cotton gloves, sisal, ornamental brocade trim, fabric, roulette gambling wheel, (with Jeannine Han)

30w x 60h x 18d in.

UNMANNED LANDER, room view, Bodega, New York, 2015

CRUDE CURRENCY (the real price of everything/what everything really costs/ to whom wants to acquire it/ the toil and trouble of acquiring it/ what everything is really worth/ to whom has acquired it/ and wants to dispose of it/ or exchange it/ for something else/ the toil and trouble which it can save/ which it can impose upon other people), 2015, coin currencies (Chinese, Greek, Swedish, Canadian, Israeli, Russian,...), energy currencies (lumps of metal, rice, spices, bee pollen, berries), wheelbarrow

59 w. x 22 h. x 28 d. in.

CRUDE CURRENCY, detail (2015)

coin currencies (Chinese, Greek, Swedish, Canadian, Israeli, Russian,...),

energy currencies (lumps of metal, rice, spices, bee pollen, berries), wheelbarrow

Untitled (for Jo Jo) [left], A Sly Birth [right]

Untitled (for Jo) (2015)

weaving, light, wood, in collaboration with Emily Shinada

A Sly Birth (2015) laser-transfer, canvas, 46.5 x 31 in.

Anchor (2015) laser-transfer, canvas, 31.5 x 46.5 in.

SUN STAND THOU STILL (2015) laser-transfer, canvas, 32 w x 21.5 h in.

AN OLD FRIEND (2015) laser-transfer, canvas, 52 in x 35 in

Is terraforming reincarnation? (2015) mirrors, wood, dyed sand, steel, in collaboration with Emily Shinada

Is terraforming reincarnation? (detail) (2015) mirrors, wood, dyed sand, steel, in collaboration with Emily Shinada

Disgusting letters we have received (2015) housepaint, wood, hinges

Room view, Open Scenes, Taidekoti Kirpilä, Helsinki, Finland, 2017

Patience, 2017

Glass bowl, seagull figurine on pier, food ingredients (soba noodles, enoki mushrooms, salmon roe, fried tofu slices) midcentury serving bowl, resin

12w x 10h x 12d in.

Knowledge, 2016


Enamelware basin, glass angel, glass snail, miniature beer bottles, speckled enamelware bowl, food ingredients (soba noodles, fried tofu, pickled egg, shiitake mushrooms) polyfil


20w x 11h x 16d in.

Refinement, 2017

Midcentury casserole bowl, angel figurines, plastic flora, bar diorama, ceramic pigeons, resin

16w x 14h x 8d

Sharing, 2017

Ceramic seashell, french pie tin, Bisque piano baby, polyurethane food ingredients (soba noddles, pickled egg, shitake mushrooms, cabbage, rock fish covered in soy sauce), caddy, resin

14.5w x 6h x 8d in.


Intuition, 2017

Antique mouse trap, glass praying children, rear view mirror, LED, polyfill 8.5 x 11 x 5 in


Courage, 2017

Scalloped serving bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (soba noodles, shiitake mushrooms, radish, carrots). epoxy resin, porcelain figurine, plastic flora

7.5 x 11.5 x 11.5 in

Courage, 2017

Scalloped serving bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (soba noodles, shiitake mushrooms, radish, carrots). epoxy resin, porcelain figurine, plastic flora

7.5 x 11.5 x 11.5 in

Control, 2016

Pig feed trough, wire, polyester stuffing, string lights, torch light, selenite, rabbi figurine

22 x 30 x 18 in

Control (detail)

Pig feed trough, wire, polyester stuffing, string lights, torch light, selenite, rabbi figurine

22 x 30 x 18 in


Bitter Water, Drei, Cologne, DE, 2016

installation view with Anna Betbeze, Hayley Aviva Silverman, Willa Nasatir

installation view of Spare Ribs III & Spare Ribs IV, 2016, Silicone, LED light, wooden stick 191 x 66 cm (ca. / approx.)

Spare Ribs III, 2016 (Detail)

Silicone, LED light, wooden stick

191 x 66 cm (approx.)

Contentment, 2016

White enamelware hospital bedpan, polyurethane food ingredients (bulgogi, bean sprouts, radishes), epoxy resin, flowers, piano baby figurines, glass vagrant figurine, celluloid mirror

14 x 29 x 45 cm

Persistence, 2016

Nickel-steelware hospital bedpan, polyurethane food ingredients (soba noodles, portobello mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, chicken), epoxy resin, piano baby figurines, Willendorf figurine

12 x 32 x 45 cm

Bitter Water (2016), Drei, Cologne, DE

installation view with Anna Betbeze, Hayley Aviva Silverman, Willa Nasatir

Candor, 2016 (Detail)

Enamel bowl, polyester stuffing, optometrist figurine, drunk hobo bar lamp, aerolux neon light

44 x 53 x 44 cm

Candor, 2016 (Detail)

Enamel bowl, polyester stuffing, optometrist figurine, drunk hobo bar lamp, aerolux neon light

44 x 53 x 44 cm

Bitter Water Playbook, 2016

Digital print on brushed steel

116 x 92 cm

Whatever You’re Pushing Against

You’re Stuck to, 2016, georgette fabric, ink, wood,

hinges, 305 x 5 x 183 cm

Mercy (2017)

enamel basin, polyester stuffing, horse jaw bone,

1950 Ford Ranchero badge, porcelain dove, led light

24L’’x18H’’x15.5W’’

Crooked Sky (2017)

Boatos, São Paulo

Hayley Silverman presents the latest in her roving series of ‘dog plays’, in which canine actors pantomime human fables of power and control. “Crooked Sky” features two songs from the stage musical Camelot, a retelling of the Arthurian myth that experienced both Broadway and Hollywood iterations during the political tumult of the 1960s. While the dogs in King Arthur’s court wonder “what the simple folk do”, a band of peasants—chickens, pecking at the ground—present a darker, perhaps wiser, speculation about the King.

Recording

Gallery page

Crooked Sky (2017)

Boatos, São Paulo

Hayley Silverman presents the latest in her roving series of ‘dog plays’, in which canine actors pantomime human fables of power and control. “Crooked Sky” features two songs from the stage musical Camelot, a retelling of the Arthurian myth that experienced both Broadway and Hollywood iterations during the political tumult of the 1960s. While the dogs in King Arthur’s court wonder “what the simple folk do”, a band of peasants—chickens, pecking at the ground—present a darker, perhaps wiser, speculation about the King.

Recording

Gallery page


Order, 2015

Metal bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (bratwurst, carrots, cauliflower, red peppers), epoxy resin, taxi light, crow, doctor and patient figurine

9 x 15 x 15 in

Citizenship , 2015

Enamel bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (rice), mud, epoxy resin, vanity mirror, figurine 9 x 15 x 15 in

Discipline, 2015

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (shitake mushrooms, sprouts, beef) compact mirror, hobo, woman and small boy seated at piano figurine

7 x 9.5 x 9.5 in

Health, 2016

Enamel bedpan, lamp, tiles, miniature tin oven, Bisque piano baby, LED

light, food ingredients (ramen, oyster, duck, snap peas, mushrooms), poly,

resin

16w x 12h x 12d in

Knowledge, 2016

Enamelware basin, glass angel, snail, miniature beer bottles, speckled

enamelware bowl, food ingredients (soba noodles, fried tofu, pickled egg,

shiitake mushrooms) poly, resin

20w x 11h x 16d in

Cleanliness, 2015

Graniteware wash basin, enamel bowl, plaster food ingredients (onion,

avocado), epoxy resin, iron devil’s mask, iron key, drunk hobo figurine,

polyurethane leaves, polyurethane apple slices with berries, rice

18 in x 24 in x 18 in

Cleanliness, 2015 (Detail)

Graniteware wash basin, enamel bowl, plaster food ingredients (onion,

avocado), epoxy resin, iron devil’s mask, iron key, drunk hobo figurine,

polyurethane leaves, polyurethane apple slices with berries, rice

18 in x 24 in x 18 in

BLOODY MARY (2016)

part of the performance program of LISTE Basel, Switzerland

Video Excerpt

More info

performer: Ulrike Gerhardt

BLOODY MARY (2016)

part of the performance program of LISTE Basel, Switzerland

Video Excerpt

More info

performer: Geo Wyeth

BLOODY MARY (2016)

part of the performance program of LISTE Basel, Switzerland

Video Excerpt

More info

BLOODY MARY (2016)

part of the performance program of LISTE Basel, Switzerland

Video Excerpt

More info

sculpture made in collaboration with James J.A. Mercer

Twister, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY, 2016

This edition combines elements from the disaster film Twister, 1996, with Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, interspersed with songs from the musical, Oliver!. Each dog carries a speaker that projects the internal monologue of its character, prerecorded by human actors, including Vaginal Davis. The play takes place against an apocalyptic backdrop, made in collaboration with Matthew Schrader.

Further reading + Trailer

Audio from play

Twister, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY, 2016

This edition combines elements from the disaster film Twister, 1996, with Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, interspersed with songs from the musical, Oliver!. Each dog carries a speaker that projects the internal monologue of its character, prerecorded by human actors, including Vaginal Davis. The play takes place against an apocalyptic backdrop, made in collaboration with Matthew Schrader.

Further reading + Trailer

Audio from play

Twister, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY, 2016

This edition combines elements from the disaster film Twister, 1996, with Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, interspersed with songs from the musical, Oliver!. Each dog carries a speaker that projects the internal monologue of its character, prerecorded by human actors, including Vaginal Davis. The play takes place against an apocalyptic backdrop, made in collaboration with Matthew Schrader.

Further reading + Trailer

Audio from play

NADA Miami installation view

Reverence, 2015

Enamelware bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (shitake mushrooms, sliced carrots, ramen noodles) epoxy resin, sand, ceramic hillbilly figurines, trolley, poppy pods

17w x 12h x 17d in.

Autonomy, 2015

Enamelware bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (enoki mushrooms, squid-ink pasta), epoxy resin, ceramic hands, porcelain door knob, laceleaf stem, leaves

7 x 16 x 14 in

installation view of Paris Internationale 2015

Restraint (2015)

Enamel bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (portobello mushrooms, soba noodles), epoxy resin, flowers, hobo and cheerleader figurine

15w x 10h x 15d in.

Nurturing, 2015

Enamel bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (cabbage, carrots, udon noodles, steak), epoxy resin, vanity mirror, doctor and newborn figurine

11w x 9h x 12.5d in.

Installation view, Our Lacustrine Cities, Chapter, NY, 2016

Tolerance (2015)

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients, epoxy resin, figurine

8.5w x 6.5h x 8.5d inches

Modesty (2015)

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (beef, noodles), epoxy resin, tin can, barrel, bottle, guns, clock hands, spider figurines

4 × 8 × 8 in

Thankfulness (2015)

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients, epoxy resin, figurine

8w x 9h x 8d inches

Serenity (2015)

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients, epoxy resin, figurine

9w x 12h x 10d inches

Respect (2015)

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients, epoxy resin, figurine

9w x 6.5h x 9d inches

Bodega at NADA, New York 2015

Fortitude (cold/wet), 2015

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (snap peas, carrots, tomato), epoxy resin, miner figurines

8 × 8 × 8 in

Generosity (2015)

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (mushrooms, cauliflower), epoxy resin, oriental rug and woman figurine,

8 × 8 × 8 in

Fairness (2015)

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (snap peas, mushrooms, green peppers), epoxy resin, sheep and doctor figurine`

8 × 8 × 8 in

Impartiality (2015)

Ceramic bowl, polyurethane food ingredients (rye bread), epoxy resin, firefighter figurines

7 × 8 × 8 in

Understanding (2014)

polyurethane food ingredients (mussels, noodles), epoxy resin, figurines

Installation of Patience / Understanding at Slopes, Melbourne, AU

Roughin It II, 2016, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Roughin It II, 2016, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

TAKE ME DOWN (2015) in collaboration with Matthew Schrader,

Mini Goethe Institute/ Curatorial Residencies, NYC

Video excerpt

performer: Melinda Camille

TAKE ME DOWN (2015) in collaboration with Matthew Schrader,

Mini Goethe Institute/ Curatorial Residencies, NYC

Video excerpt

Vielen Dank♥ für die Blumen (2015), NADA NYC

Trailer

Recording

Vielen Dank♥ für die Blumen (2015), NADA NYC

Trailer

Recording

Vielen Dank♥ für die Blumen (2015), NADA NYC

Trailer

Recording

Roughin’ It (2015) New Theater, Berlin

Recording

Roughin’ It (2015) New Theater, Berlin

Recording

Lucy (2014)

At Old Room, New York, NY

Recording

Lucy (2014)

At Old Room, New York, NY

Recording

The Great Slump on Good Friday (2014)

At Bodega, NY

Geo Wyeth sings naughty, gaudy, bawdy, sporty . . . Alimony Sal. Sprung out of the era that sang, "Let's be Common," and "Why am I so romantic," Sal follows her heart to court, collecting divorces and alimony through ecstatic dance routines and an endless smile. "When I'm good I'm very good. But when I'm bad I'm better."

Recording

Further reading

The Great Slump on Good Friday (2014)

At Bodega, NY

Geo Wyeth sings naughty, gaudy, bawdy, sporty . . . Alimony Sal. Sprung out of the era that sang, "Let's be Common," and "Why am I so romantic," Sal follows her heart to court, collecting divorces and alimony through ecstatic dance routines and an endless smile. "When I'm good I'm very good. But when I'm bad I'm better."

Recording

More info

Bluebirds ft. “Make Believe” (2013) SculptureCenter, Queens, New York City

The tripartite musical work, Bluebirds ft. ‘Make Believe’, adapts the lyrically opposing melodies of two

popular Hollywood films produced during the Depression Era that each rhapsodize class difference: ‘We’re in the Money’ (Gold Diggers of 1933, 1933) and ‘Hallelujah, I’m a Bum!’ (Hallelujah I’m a Bum, 1933). Sung live by performers whose remote voices are carried on handheld transceivers, the staging unlooses the pathos and mirth of these narrativistic industry standards through chaotically undirected canine movement. The musical dialogue is transformed by the performative agency, attitude, and attention-span of the animal-actors, who themselves reflect the rarefied character and breeding of New York City pet owners. An original song written and performed by Brooklyn-native Nettie Smith comprises the work’s final segment; concluding on a note of contemporary optimism that endorses the power of imagination and personal expression even despite financial hardship.

Recording

Trailer

Bluebirds ft. "Make Believe" (2014)

At SculptureCenter, Queens, NY

Recording

Trailer

Bluebirds ft. "Make Believe" (2014)

At SculptureCenter, Queens, NY

Bluebirds ft. "Make Believe" debuts two Depression-era operettas, "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum!"

and "We're in the Money" sung in tandem and carried by dogs. An original song, "Make Believe," was sung by its song-writer, Nettie Smith, and performed by a smaller pup swaddled in a jacket.

Further reading

The Truman Show (2012)

At De-Center, Baltimore, MD

Postcard

The Truman Show (2012)

At De-Center, Baltimore, MD

Recording

fly room (2013)

At Appendix Project Space, Portland, Oregon

fly room (2013) is a performance based on Bennett Miller's documentary THE CRUISE (1988) which profiles Timothy Levitch's experience as a tantric tour bus operator guiding an audience through the gridlocked streets of New York City. The performance is an adaptation of the script casting Levitch as a mottled Great Dane as he tours an audience of seven teenage chickens and an apprehensive rabbit. His voice is disembodied and his prose are spoken with a female West-Coast accent.

Soundtrack

fly room (2013)

At Appendix Project Space, Portland, Oregon

fly room (2013) is a performance based on Bennett Miller's documentary THE CRUISE (1988) which profiles Timothy Levitch's experience as a tantric tour bus operator guiding an audience through the gridlocked streets of New York City. The performance is an adaptation of the script casting Levitch as a mottled Great Dane as he tours an audience of seven teenage chickens and an apprehensive rabbit. His voice is disembodied and his prose are spoken with a female West-Coast accent.

Soundtrack

fly room (2013)

At Appendix Project Space, Portland, Oregon

fly room (2013) is a performance based on Bennett Miller's documentary THE CRUISE (1988) which profiles Timothy Levitch's experience as a tantric tour bus operator guiding an audience through the gridlocked streets of New York City. The performance is an adaptation of the script casting Levitch as a mottled Great Dane as he tours an audience of seven teenage chickens and an apprehensive rabbit. His voice is disembodied and his prose are spoken with a female West-Coast accent.

Flyer

Waking Life (2010)

At Gentili Apri, DE

An adaptation of Richard Linklater's "Waking Life" performed in three acts by four dogs. The performance itself was inspired by the hallucinatory poem Zhuangzi Dreaming of a Butterfly (or a Butterfly Dreaming of Zhuangzi) in which the 4th century Chinese poet cannot discern if he is a butterfly who has imagined himself a human or a human who has imagined himself a butterfly. It’s existential uncertainty is re-iterated in Linklater’s script that question consciousness and the nature of reality. Here, in leui of animation, dogs become an auratic other in which to contemplate dimensions of humanity that transcend the bodily experience. Sparse theatrical props include a blanket and full-length mirror.

Waking Life (2010)

At Gentili Apri, DE

An adaptation of Richard Linklater's "Waking Life" performed in three acts by four dogs.

Recordings

A set of multi-lingual sleep aids sung in the the mother tongue of naturalized immigrants, foreign visa holders, and expatriates currently living in New York and it’s five boroughs.

The songs were made originally for NADA NYC and carried by dogs throughout Basketball City.


aavivaasilverman@gmail.com