Launching over the weekend of February 1-3, 2019, Elevation 1049: Frequencies will feature ‘Mirage Gstaad’, a new outdoor site specific sculpture by Los Angeles-based artist Doug Aitken that will remain on view in Gstaad, for the first time, over the course of two years, reflecting and interacting with the mountain landscape over the changing seasons. Frequencies will convene for the opening weekend a diverse group of international visual and performing artists from multiple generations and backgrounds who will present a dense program of live performances in various indoor and outdoor locations in and around Gstaad.
Participating artists are: Nina Beier, Suzanne Ciani, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Zhana Ivanova, Marie Karlberg, Liz Magic Laser, Cori Kresge and Hanna Novak, Isabel Lewis, Naama Tsabar and Marianne Vitale.
Time and space are the measure of all landscape and the idea of frequency carries that measure within its dual meanings. Frequency is both the rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a given period of time or in a given sample, and also, the rate at which a vibration occurs that constitutes a wave, either in a material (as in sound waves), or in an electromagnetic field (as in radio waves and light), usually measured per second. The third edition of Elevation 1049 invokes both of these ideas.
Mirage Gstaad by Doug Aitken uses the frequency of light to reflect the sublime Alpine landscape as part of a continually changing encounter in which land and sky, subject and object, inside and outside are in constant flux. Standing in contrast to the surrounding chalet’s the ranchstyle structure suggests a latter-day architectural version of Manifest Destiny, the westward migration that began in Europe and finally settled in California. With every available surface clad in mirror it both absorbs and reflects the landscape around in such ways that the exterior will seemingly disappear just as the interior draws the viewer into a neverending kaleidoscope of light and reflection.
Frequencies proposes a dialogue between the semi-permanent structure of Mirage Gstaad and transitive and ephemeral nature of performance. Exploring ideas that range from the acoustic structure of landscape itself to the healing properties it has conferred upon its residents, from ideas of beauty and destruction to future-shock they will activate the storied as well as the lesser known spaces of Gstaad and the surroundings both inside and outside. Where Mirage plays to a reflected landscape as it is beamed across social media so the program of performances bring to Frequencies the
intimacy of unrepeatable personal encounter.
About Elevation 1049
Gstaad first gained place on the international map in the sixties when it was named ‘The Place’ by Time Magazine. Its extraordinary natural beauty was a magnet for a wide range of creative types, from actors and directors, musicians, as well as artists ranging from Balthus to the children’s book illustrator Richard Scarry. While continuing to host the acclaimed Menuhin and Les Moment Musicaux de Gstaad music festivals, Gstaad’s contemporary visual arts scene has expanded over the last years.
Elevation 1049: Frequencies, curated by Neville Wakefield and Olympia Scarry, first launched in 2014 and is named after the geological coordinates of Gstaad (1049). The project features in situ works created out of the specifics of time and place and is comprised of works by international artists. Most of the pieces are displayed, activated or performed outside in and around Gstaad, aiming to revive dialogue between the creative community and the region.
Opening weekend: February 1-3, 1049
Gstaad (various locations), Switzerland
www.elevation67G8.org
Facebook : Elevation1049Gstaad
Instagram : elevation1049
Monday to Friday
09:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 18:00