* 1932 in Detroit, USA. † 1997 in Cairo, Egypt
American Artist
Known for: Performative sculpturesand installations e.g. The Death of James Lee Byars (1994), The Giant Soluble Man (1967)
Art historical context: Performance Art, Fluxus
Exhibited works
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The Ghost of James Lee Byars, 1969. 1. OG | B | After his death, the spirit of James Lee Byars was to be evoked by an empty, pitch-black room in which the visitor was forced to grope his way through the space. This work was first shown in 1969 in Dusseldorf and was rebuilt for other group exhibitions. Depending on the context, the complete darkness was charged with other connotations, e.g. the supernatural, monochrome, void, etc. | |
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I Do Nothing Assisted by Grögel, 1975. 2. OG | B | On the invitation to his performance at the De Appel Foundation in Amsterdam, James Lee Byars announced that he would do nothing, assisted by his girlfriend Bibi Grögel. When visitors entered the exhibition space, the floor had been painted in gold and Byars distributed little golden balls of paper. When unfolded, they read: "I do nothing." The slips of paper were crumpled up into little balls again and thrown back on the ground. Nothing else happened, except that Byars and his girlfriend sat in the room and listened to Satie. | |
| Links Michael Werner Gallery | Mary Boone Gallery | Further informations 1 | 2
Credits All reproductions © Estate of James Lee Byars | ||
