JANINE GORDON
'Play Loud. Please'

Group exhibition with the artists: Antoine Gamard, Julien Taylor, Gregory Dejoy, William B., Thomas Parnet
6 Feb - 3 March 2009
Galerie Celal, Rue St Honore, Paris galeriecelal.com

The exhibition 'Play Loud. Please' at the Galerie Celala is organized in cooperation with 'La Deuxième Aile', an organisation for collecting contemporary art. Founded by artists, La Deuxième Aile is showing underground art in spontaneous exhibitions which are composed by the real life.

Spontaneous art, composed by real life

The American photographer and rapper Janine Gordon, born in Queens, raised and living in Brooklyn/NY, is one of the artists in the show in February and March 2009. Gordon's work is about gangs, children from the streets of Rio de Janeiro, mosh pits (a free-style circular kick, fly, dance, punch...), bikers ...

"The landscape of physical vulnerability is often the subject of my work. Composing the frames with metaphors of post modern bravado often refer to a state of ecstasy or elation. Although seemingly aggressive on the surface value, the endgame that is ultimately expressed is pure joy and beauty. The subject of mosh pits embodies the timeless subject of dance, but as dance form changes so do the figures in space.
[...]
Throughout history, youth cultures, countercultures, poets, musicians have permeated thoughts of the masses, infiltrating the consciousness with messages of rebellion in hopes of changing some pre-existing sense of order. Often the purity and innocence of spirit and gesture, that which is true to itself, is located in obscure spaces. Immediate _expression without pretense is the strength of the imagery because the elements of chance, synchronicity and vision collide while documenting reality.
[...]
My content is more about vitality than volatility, more about beauty than brutality, more about painting a picture than traditional photography, more about setting a scene and creating a narrative."
Janine Gordon, 2008.


more foto>>>


Janine Gordon has studied sculpture at the Cooper Union in New York. The artist has h as exhibited in museums and galleries around the world such as at the MV Art Projects, Zurich (2008), "Moscow Art Fair", Moscow, Galerie Volker Diehl (2006), Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris (2006), Galerie Volker Diehl, Berlin (2005), Deitch Projects, New York (2002), "Ottakringer Brauerei" Vienna (2002), The Whitney Biennial, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2001)... to name only a few.

fig.: Janine Gordon 'Rebellion from tyranny', 9 photographies, 2008.

On Janine Gordon's website she presents her work. You can navigate through the themes she is focusing on, such as cowboys, bikers, boxers-wrestlers, stunts, surfers, fashion (for renowned magazines)... and mosh pits which you can see on this page. She is publishing a description for each theme. At the end of each thematic index-site, she has installed the fitting track; on 'Mosh Pit' it is 'More Cheeba'.

"...Within the frenetic rage of impassioned music lovers, the rhythm of the beat usually creates the dynamic of the mosh pit. A Mosh pit occurs in an almost gladiator free-style circular pit allowing for people to kick, fly, dance, punch, surf, chicken fight or stand on ones head surrounded by a sea of bodies guiding the motion of the energy...."
Janine Gordon

Check out more about the music by JAH JAH myspace.com/mcjahjah.