Singing in the rain

2008
Video, HDV, 4.22 min
Los Angeles, CA, USA

In the magical morning hour of downtown L.A., a female figure appears in the deserted city center wearing nothing but a nude costume of skin-colored tights, underwear and a handmade-bra with stuffed breasts. As she begins to reenact Gene Kelly’s famous dance of ‚Singing in the Rain‘, Kelly‘s male movements find realization in Marcin‘s improvisational act. Lacking the significant rain of the original scene that serves as a catharsis and relief, the nude continuous her tap dance on a water fountain’s steps, and finally jumps into a larger basin. The ongoing movement with the autonomy of a child’s play or a private practice is underlined by the strong presence of melancholy. Hiding the identity of the person, the character’s nudity reduces her to a clownish gender stereotype. Contradictorily, her clumsy and authentic movement reveals an imperfection that shows personality and Gestalt. Marcin’s ambiguous spectacle of ‚Singing in the Rain‘ reverses the pretense to an uneasy amusement.

Exhibitions / Catalogs:

2012

AIVA Festival, Angelholm, Sweden, curated by Andres Weberg (S)

Spring Show, 532 Thomas Jaeckel Gallery, New York, USA (G)

Sarah Crown presents, Sarah Crown Pop Up Gallery, New York, USA (G)

2011

*Solo Show, The-Solo-Project, Jens Fehring Gallery, Basel, Schweiz

*Lost in translation, Jens Fehring Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany

2010

*Open Studios, International Studies and Curatorial Program, Brooklyn, USA

*2010 MFA Thesis Exhibition, Columbia University, Fisher Landau Center for Art, New York, USA, curated by Anthony Huberman

*As you like it II, Heidi Cho Gallery, New York, USA, curated by Marilyn Rosenberg

Vimeo Link:

https://vimeo.com/9116623

Production:

N/A


© 2024 Nadja Verena Marcin