Past Exhibition

Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder: Topsy-Turvy

March 1 – April 7, 2013

Past Exhibition

Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder: Topsy-Turvy

March 1 – April 7, 2013

Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder’s Topsy-Turvy: A Camera Obscura Installation reimagines one of the world’s oldest moving-image devices into a life-sized, ten-by-ten-foot structure. Park visitors could enter the interactive, large-scale installation, which utilizes the physical properties of light to capture images of the surrounding Flatiron neighborhood in real time. Gibson and Recoder collaborate on performance and installations, uniting the various rich traditions of experimental film. Their larger body of work incorporates both avant-garde film practice and time-based media into a distinctive art practice. “Topsy-Turvy is our homage to one of the earliest moving-image technologies in the pre-history of cinema,” according to the artists. “The projected image inside our circular camera obscura delivers a topsy-turvy panoramic abstraction of Madison Square Park and the surrounding scenery of the Flatiron District.”

About the artist

Artist collaborators Sandra Gibson (American, b. 1968) and Luis Recoder (American, b. 1971) were born in Portland and San Francisco, respectively. They live and work in New York.

They have collaborated on installations and performances since 2000. They participated in 2004 Whitney Biennial, New York; Film.Text.Performance.Film, Marfa; and Sundance Film Festival, Utah. They have received National Endowment for the Art’s U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Italy. Gibson and Recoder’s works are included in the collections of Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester; Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Read more about the artist
About the artist

Artist collaborators Sandra Gibson (American, b. 1968) and Luis Recoder (American, b. 1971) were born in Portland and San Francisco, respectively. They live and work in New York.

They have collaborated on installations and performances since 2000. They participated in 2004 Whitney Biennial, New York; Film.Text.Performance.Film, Marfa; and Sundance Film Festival, Utah. They have received National Endowment for the Art’s U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Italy. Gibson and Recoder’s works are included in the collections of Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester; Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Read more about the artist

About the artist

Artist collaborators Sandra Gibson (American, b. 1968) and Luis Recoder (American, b. 1971) were born in Portland and San Francisco, respectively. They live and work in New York.

They have collaborated on installations and performances since 2000. They participated in 2004 Whitney Biennial, New York; Film.Text.Performance.Film, Marfa; and Sundance Film Festival, Utah. They have received National Endowment for the Art’s U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Italy. Gibson and Recoder’s works are included in the collections of Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester; Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Read more about the artist
Press Release

Download PDF

Download PDF
About the artist

Artist collaborators Sandra Gibson (American, b. 1968) and Luis Recoder (American, b. 1971) were born in Portland and San Francisco, respectively. They live and work in New York.

They have collaborated on installations and performances since 2000. They participated in 2004 Whitney Biennial, New York; Film.Text.Performance.Film, Marfa; and Sundance Film Festival, Utah. They have received National Endowment for the Art’s U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Italy. Gibson and Recoder’s works are included in the collections of Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester; Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Read more about the artist

Image gallery

Photo: Peter Goldberg
Photo: Peter Goldberg
Photo: Peter Goldberg
Photo: Peter Goldberg
Photo: Peter Goldberg
Photo: Peter Goldberg
Photo: Peter Goldberg

Exhibition Support

Major support for the art program is provided by the Charina Endowment Fund, Liane Ginsberg, Agnes Gund, Toby Devan Lewis, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Tiffany & Co., Sorgente Group, and Anonymous. Substantial support is provided by Martha and Bruce Atwater, Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, The Henry Luce Foundation, Melissa S. Meyer, Ronald A. Pizzuti, The Rudin Family, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, Tishman Speyer, the Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust, and The Sol LeWitt Fund for Artist Work. Additional support is provided by Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, Danny and Audrey Meyer, and NYC and Company.

Exhibition support is provided by Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery. Delta Air Lines is the Official Airline Sponsor of the art program. Ace Hotel New York is the Official Hotel Partner of the Madison Square Park Conservancy. The art program is supported in part with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. The Madison Square Park Conservancy is a public/private partnership with New York City Parks & Recreation.

Special thanks to John G. Hanhardt, Consulting Senior Curator for Film and Media Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Aaron Scott Design.

Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder: Topsy-Turvy

Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder: Topsy-Turvy

Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder: Topsy-Turvy

Exhibition Support

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