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Sebura&Gartelmann: Bonded

June 6, 2020 – September 27, 2020

Sebura&Gartelmann, Gum Chew (video still), 2020. Single-channel video with sound, 12:41 minutes. Courtesy of the Artists.

overview

A message from Sebura&Gartelmann

In lieu of an opening for Bonded, we want to encourage those with the financial ability to share monetary resources by making a donation with the following organizations from our and MMoCA’s immediate communities. These organizations are doing critical work supporting equity and justice for communities of color. We believe fiscal support of these organizations is paramount in sustaining the long and hard work required to undo systemic racism and inequity. Viewers are encouraged to get involved on a personal level by reaching out to organizations doing anti-racist work and learning how they best need allyship. 

We are asking that in addition to financial support, white viewers do the work of having conversations about justice and equity with their white community, friends, family, and colleagues.

Please think of this as one step in a process requiring many.

Sebura&Gartelmann

Through acts that employ risk, pain, silence, and humor Sebura&Gartelmann expose trust, vulnerability, and intimacy in their relationship and collaboration. Featuring Pulley System, Peg Wall, Finger Sew, and Gum Chew, this exhibition highlights how Alex Gartelmann and Jonas Sebura use their signature calamitous aesthetic to subvert traditional representations of masculinity.


Gallery


Online Exhibition

SEBURA&GARTELMANN:
Finger Sew, 2019

Single-channel video with sound, 2:09 minutes. Courtesy of the artists.

SEBURA&GARTELMANN:
Peg Wall, 2017

Four-channel video with sound, 8:28 minutes. Courtesy of the artists.

SEBURA&GARTELMANN:
Pulley System, 2019

Single-channel video with sound, 2:21 minutes. Courtesy of the artists.

SEBURA&GARTELMANN:
Gum Chew, 2020

Single-channel video with sound, 12:41 minutes. Courtesy of the artists.


About The Exhibition

Through acts that employ risk, pain, silence, and humor Sebura&Gartelmann expose trust, vulnerability, and intimacy in their relationship and collaboration. Featuring Pulley System, Peg Wall, Finger Sew, and Gum Chew, this exhibition highlights how Alex Gartelmann and Jonas Sebura use their signature calamitous aesthetic to subvert traditional representations of masculinity.

In Pulley System, both artists have attached themselves to a pulley system and attempt to move across a room, their own weight keeping the other from advancing. Peg Wall shows the pair scaling a wall while negotiating how to place the pegs they share for hand and foot support. Using a needle and thread, they sew the top layers of skin on their thumbs together in Finger Sew. In Gum Chew, the two sit side by side with a bowl of gumballs, passing a growing wad of gum back and forth and adding new gumballs with each pass.

Describing their collaborative process, Sebura says, “We never want to approach something as a bad idea, but rather, how can we build on this?” Gartelmann adds “We think that disagreement in collaboration comes from ego, so we try to remove that element.” Sebura further explains: “Trusting each other also helps us embrace uncertainty in our work.” Their ability to express themselves through easily accessible materials and simple acts elevates their raw and sometimes dangerous performances, offering a window into masculine intimacy and care.

Sebura&Gartelmann: Bonded was developed in partnership with the Art History course Design Thinking for Exhibitions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Stemming from a shared interest in utilizing museum spaces for direct learning, this cross-institutional venture seeks to cultivate the next generation of museum professionals by introducing participants to the practical and theoretical matters of curation.

Generous funding for Imprint Gallery programs has been provided by Willy Haeberli in memory of Gabriele Haberland.


Exhibition Catalogue

Sebura&Gartelmann, Finger Sew (video still), 2019. Single-channel video with sound, 2:09 minutes. Courtesy of the Artists.

Sebura&Gartelmann’s collaborative process is explored in this digital exhibition catalogue. Created, written, and designed by students in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Design Thinking for Exhibitions course, with a foreword by MMoCA assistant curator Elizabeth Shoshany Anderson.


Videos

Virtual Studio Visit


Interviews

S&G discuss the social and cultural forces that influence their work (1:40 minutes)

S&G on the impact of skating culture and masculinity (4:30 minutes)

S&G on their collaborative approach to art (2:26 minutes)

S&G on their individual artistic practices (2:35 minutes)

S&G discuss the role of discomfort and trust in their work

S&G talk about how they address artistic differences (3:20 mins)

S&G respond to COVID-19 (3:00 minutes)

S&G, humor, and physicality (3:13 minutes)

S&G on what and who they look to for artistic inspiration (2:33 minutes)

S&G talk about the importance of objects in their performances (3:00 minutes)

S&G on how they maintain their studio practice (3:00 minutes)



Support

Sebura&Gartelmann: Bonded was developed in partnership with the Art History course Design Thinking for Exhibitions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Stemming from a shared interest in utilizing museum spaces for direct learning, this cross-institutional venture seeks to cultivate the next generation of museum professionals by introducing participants to the practical and theoretical matters of curation.

Generous funding for Imprint Gallery programs has been provided by Willy Haeberli in memory of Gabriele Haberland.