JUN NGUYEN-HATSUSHIBA: MEMORIAL PROJECT VIETNAM @ the New Museum (May 7-June 29)

—— Forwarded Message
From: Rebecca Metzger <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 13:28:35 -0500
To: Rebecca Metzger <[email protected]>
Subject: JUN NGUYEN-HATSUSHIBA: MEMORIAL PROJECT VIETNAM @ the New Museum
(May 7-June 29)

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M E D I A C O N T A C T
For more info contact:
Rebecca Metzger, PR Officer
212.219.1222 ext. 394
[email protected]


THE NEW MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART PRESENTS VIDEO WORKS BY
JUN NGUYEN-HATSUSHIBA IN MEMORIAL PROJECT VIETNAM

May 7, 2003 - June 29, 2003
in the Zenith Media Lounge


New York, NY (April 1, 2003) - From May 7-June 29, 2003, the New Museum of
Contemporary Art presents Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba: Memorial Project Vietnam.
Born in Japan, educated in the United States, and now living in Ho Chi Minh
City, Nguyen-Hatsushiba creates lyrical, graceful, and spellbinding films
that explore Vietnamese history and identity. On view in the Zenith Media
Lounge of the New Museum are two recent videos by Nguyen-Hatsushiba.

Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam: Towards the Complex - For the
Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards (2001) records a staged underwater
race that suggests the arduous progress of a nation recovering from a
half-century of political turmoil. In slow motion, a group of pearl divers
soundlessly pull cyclos (rickshaw taxis) along the floor of the sea. With
direct reference to the impact of the Vietnam War on his country,
Nguyen-Hatsushiba deconstructs the fate of those who are caught between old
and new modes of existence. Pearl divers and cyclo drivers remain two of the
most economically disenfranchised workers in Vietnam.

In his most recent work, Happy New Year-Memorial Project Vietnam II (2003),
completed for this exhibition, Nguyen-Hatsushiba affirms his position as one
of the most innovative young Southeast Asian artists on the international
scene today. This video explores a key event in modern Vietnamese history:
the Tet Offensive of 1968, a series of surprise attacks by North Vietnamese
troops during the celebration of the Lunar New Year, when both sides were
thought to have laid down their arms to celebrate the country's most
important holiday. A traditional New Year's dragon puppet, supported from
beneath by seven divers, twists and turns beneath the waves while a script
recalls the celebration and devastation of the Tet Offensive. The dragon's
sinuous movement is contrasted with that of the Fate Machine, a giant
skeletal orb that shoots small balls at random intervals toward the water's
surface. As the balls reach the air, they burst into clouds of colored
powder, signifying a sudden release from a state of danger.

Both works are filmed underwater, suggesting a symbolic link with Vietnamese
sensibility. Vietnam, with its long coastline and one of the world's
largest, most fertile river basins, is defined by its relationship to water.
Vietnamese folklore and mythology also abound in references to water.

Nguyen-Hatsushiba earned his B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago in 1992 and his M.F.A. from the Maryland Institute College of Art in
1994. His work has been featured in the 2001 Yokohama Triennale and the 2002
Sydney and Sao Paolo Biennials. His videos will be featured at the upcoming
2003 Venice and Istanbul Biennales.

Happy New Year-Memorial Project Vietnam II was produced by the MATRIX
Program at the U.C. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley,
CA, with assistance from the New Museum of Contemporary Art. The Berkeley
Art Museum presentation was funded by the LEF Foundation. Jun
Nguyen-Hatsushiba's work appears courtesy of the artist and Mizuma Gallery,
Tokyo.

Public Program
Conversation with the Artist: Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba
Tues. May 6, 2003, 6-7PM
Conversation between Senior Curator Dan Cameron and artist Jun
Nguyen-Hatsushiba, followed by an opening reception from 7-8PM. (Zenith
Media Lounge)

About the Zenith Media Lounge
Zenith Media Lounge is a digital and media arts collaboration with Zenith
Electronics Corporation. Located on the New Museum Store level, the Zenith
Media Lounge is New York City's only museum space dedicated to the
exhibition and exploration of digital art, experimental video, and sound
works. Programming in the Zenith Media Lounge is ongoing and is always free.

Zenith Media Lounge exhibitions and public programs are supported by the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Jerome Foundation and the New York State
Council on the Arts.

About the New Museum of Contemporary Art
The New Museum of Contemporary Art, founded in 1977 and located in the heart
of Soho, is the premier destination for contemporary art in New York City.
With an annual schedule of dynamic exhibitions, the Museum presents the most
innovative and experimental work from around the world. Debate and
discussion about contemporary culture are encouraged through a broad range
of educational programs, publications, performances, and new media
initiatives. The New Museum recently announced plans to build a new, 60,000
square foot facility at 235 Bowery. Visit www.newmuseum.org for more about
the New Museum.




New Museum of Contemporary Art
General Information

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The exhibitions at the New Museum of Contemporary Art are made possible by
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The New Museum has received major stabilization support for 2003 operations
and programs from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Booth Ferris
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