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Artist Collective FAILE’s Temple at Portugal Arte 10, Lisbon
July 21, 2010
Portugal Arte 10 is a new biennial show of contemporary art in Lisbon. One of the most spectacular works on display is Temple (2010), a site-specific environment by the Brooklyn-based artist collective FAILE (Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller).
FAILE’s Temple is a full-scale church in ruins in Praça dos Restauradores Square, one of the major squares in the center of Lisbon, Portugal. For this installation, FAILE used both the typical motifs they use in their work and styles and material that are typical for Lisbon, such as the ceramic tiles. The building also features wrought iron gating and concrete relief work, from local and foreign manufacturers, and familiar FAILE images, such as the barking dog logo that appear in the reliefs, and a white, blue, and gold color palette as a reference to the Portugese landscape.
FAILE is an artistic collaboration between Patrick McNeil (b. 1975, Edmonton, CA) and Patrick Miller (b. 1976, Minneapolis, MN) formed in 1999 and based in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to work painted and pasted on streets around the world, FAILE has exhibited with Lazarides, London; New Image Art, Los Angeles; Fifty24SF, Portland; Baltic Center for Contemporary Arts, Newcastle; Shanghai Sculpture Center, Shanghai; Andenken Gallery, Denver; and Les Complices, Zurich.
Temple by FAILE is one of the artworks in public space that are presented within the framework of Portugal Arte 10, the first edition of the international survey of contemporary art in Portugal. Coming soon: More information, video coverage of the event and an interview with the artistic director of Portugal Arte 10, Stefan Simchowitz.
See also: Interviews with FAILE at Gothamist and Wallkandy.
Photos of the installation after the jump.
Update (August 13, 2010): Interview with FAILE’s Patrick McNeil and article by James Gaddy at Imprint.
Update (July 24, 2010): making of photos and more info at Stick2Target.
> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.
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DVD available.
Project description Faile: Temple:
“The concept of freedom will be explored as a singular, unifying vision throughout PortugalArte10. This is of particular importance in Portugal, as it has only been within the last forty years that the country was able to release itself from dictatorship in a brave and bloodless revolution. This development in the country’s recent history has enabled Portugal to renew the spirit that drove the Portuguese to discover the New World. A massive undertaking and one of the largest public art projects in the world will be presented to express this notion. The world-renowned street art collective Faile will present the Cathedral Project, a giant sculptural installation in the heart of the city of Lisbon. Faile are known worldwide for their ambitious public projects that have been mounted in such cities as New York, Shanghai, and London. Using the physical street as a canvas for expressing their ideas, Faile is part of a global movement that has been embraced by audiences for its popular approach to artistic and creative expression. The integration of the Cathedral Project within the very fabrics of the city will serve a crucial role in granting audiences the ability to engage and interact on their own terms.”
Related Articles:
- Portugal Arte 10: Public Art Projects in Downtown Lisbon
- Portugal Arte 10 / International Survey of Contemporary Art in Lisbon, Portugal
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Tags: FAILE, Patrick McNeil, Patrick Miller
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