Evoking the idea of “open cities” as articulated by noted pragmatist, sociologist, and urban planner Richard Sennett, A Body Has No Center is an exhibition in action, positioning arts in relation to other creative practices, static objects in conversation with dynamic processes, and viewers in contact with timely events and ambiences. "The body," represented literally as the figure, plays a necess
ary but simultaneously tangential role in the exhibition, acting as a “MacGuffin” to consider another kind of body. This body is that of the community/ communities of artists and others who embrace, define, and create the living city we inhabit. Coming at a time when foreign bodies, brown and black bodies, and gendered bodies are central subjects in mainstream discourse of division, A Body Has No Center is a dialogue in and around the body’s representation AND the actual environments that it inhabits, surrounds, and connects. OUR bodies are points of contact, parts of a network of being, and not a total whole. Like the "self," they are built of relationships, more like borders than boundaries; open systems, never closed. Curator Ricky Yanas proposes A Body Has No Center as an “incomplete object” opening up the idea of the gallery exhibition as a site for “emergent forms.” With a dynamic range of participants, a set of rotating mini-exhibitions in the Tiger Strikes Asteroid gallery and other venues, and a multitude of performances and events spread throughout the Philadelphia area, the project will be defined by a series of non-harmonious moments, events and atmospheres rather than a singular theme, specific space, or particular kind of work. Decentralizing the focus of the exhibition makes possible a space of play and informality where moments and relationships are privileged over constant and concrete forms, echoing the joyous instability of any singular view of what we are. Ricky Yanas is a Texas born artist, curator, and educator based in Philadelphia. He received his Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011 and is currently a member of the artist-run gallery Tiger Strikes Asteroid Philadelphia. In the fall, he will be working with Nerissa Cooney, Lauren Downing, Kayla Romberger and Gee Wesley to open Ulises, Philadelphia’s first bookshop to focus exclusively on artists’ books and independent publications. Participating Artists and Collaborators:
Gerardine Aldamar
Phoebe Bachman
Stephanie Barrale
Benavenete
Zoe Berg
Marc Blumthal
Ross Brubeck
Mariel Joan Capanna
Andrew Cervantes
Teresa Cervantes
Caitlin Cocco
Shelby Donnelly
Mike Dunican
Adriaen van der Donck
Erland+Kaman
Scott Eastwood
Gina Ferrara
Lauren Moya Ford
Brandon Gamm
Kenedell Hayes
Mary Henderson
Donald Hopkins
Everett Hurtt
Miguel Huerta
Brad Jamula
Matt Jacobs
Naomieh Jovin
Sarah Kaufman
Lead Pipe
June Yong Lee
Vita Litvak
Sophie Marisol
Heidie Mojica
Mark Martinez
Oatmier
Caitlin Palmer
Sarah R. Pearson
Jen Rickert
Natalia Rodriguez
Lynn Rosenthal
James Scheuren
Suzanne Seesman
Alicia Simon
Meredith Stapleton
Jeffrey Charles Stanley
Wallace Stevens
Erik Shane Swanson
Kayla Wallitsch
Ben Walls
Frank Wick
Ulises
