Surf and Turf at the Linda Pace Foundation

The phrase “surf and turf” is commonly used in the restaurant industry. However, the Linda Pace Foundation offers San Antonio a taste of this through art. Between February 17 and June 30, the Linda Pace Foundation is exhibiting a special three-screen video installation of TEN THOUSAND WAVES by Isaac Julien. This is accompanied through March 31 by Terrain, Selected Works from the Linda Pace Foundation Collection, which showcases twenty-one works by sixteen artists.

These works by talented contemporary artists, not literally about ocean waves or land, envelop the Foundation’s commitment to fostering the creation, presentation, and understanding of innovative expression through contemporary art. With this mission, the Foundation continues to inspire both national and international artists.

“Out of Linda’s enthusiasm and generosity grew a hugely significant 12-year collaboration, which has resulted in the making of several exhibitions and works including TEN THOUSAND WAVES,” said artist, Isaac Julien. “Meeting Linda Pace changed my life, and continues to inspire me.”

Born in London, England in 1960, Julien worked in the area of moving image for over twenty-five years. Over the duration of his world-renowned career, Julien collected numerous awards, including a nomination for the Turner Prize in 2001, the Frameline Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, and the Aurora Award in 2005.

“The original inspiration for TEN THOUSAND WAVES was the Morecambe Bay tragedy of 2004, in which 23 Chinese cockle-pickers died,” says Julien. ”The work links the Shanghai of the past and present, symbolizing the Chinese transition towards modernity, aspiration and affluence – the so-called ‘Better Life.’ I employed the visual language of ghost stories, with recurrent figures and images appearing and disappearing.”

Filmed in China, TEN THOUSAND WAVES seamlessly fuses together China’s ancient past and present. The work takes audiences on a journey exploring the migration of people across countries and continents while carefully illuminating unfinished journeys. Film, dance, photography, music, theatre, painting and sculpture are united in TEN THOUSAND WAVES, yielding a unique poetic visual language in audio-visual film installations.

To complete this timeless project, Julien worked in conjunction with some of China’s leading artistic voices, including: Chinese cinema and film stars Maggie Cheung and Zhao Tao; poet Wang Ping, calligrapher Gong Fagen and artist Yang Fudong. Popular cinematographer Zhao Xiaoshi and a cast and crew of approximately 100 committed individuals. Surrounding himself with an endless stream of talent, the original musical score was created by Julien’s fellow East Londoner Jah Wobble and the Chinese Dub Orchestra, with contribution provided by contemporary classical composer Maria de Alvear.

Long before this project was undertaken people have been captivated by history, seeking ways to bridge past and present and offer a clear delineation between fiction and reality.  TEN THOUSAND WAVES identifies these ever-evolving curiosities through feature film and documentary. It accomplishes the lofty goal of engaging social, psychological, aesthetic, mythic, and spiritual dimensions. The poetic beauty that encapsulates the project successfully draws audiences into a world where Western-centric cultural globalization is tastefully challenged.

Julien dedicates his three-screen U.S. premiere of TEN THOUSAND WAVES to “Linda Pace, her work, and her artistic vision,” said Julien. “The work is a memorial for the 23 Chinese cockle-pickers who died in Morecambe Bay, and also about remembering the legacy of Linda Pace. About how Art can uniquely remember Life.”

The presentation of TEN THOUSAND WAVES was inaugurated with a conversation between Julien and Steven Evans, Executive Director and Curator of the Linda Pace Foundation mid-February with a screening preview available to the present audience.

Complementing the intricacies of TEN THOUSAND WAVES is Terrain. An exhibit honoring sixteen different artists with unique style. Catering to a wide-range of art aficionados, Terrain is yet another example of the Linda Pace Foundation’s love and support for contemporary art.

Emphasized by Contemporary Art Month, the Linda Pace Foundation encourages community participation. On March 15, artist Glenn Ligon will share his insight with Steven Evans, Executive Director and Curator of the Linda Pace Foundation. Reservations can be made for this exclusive show hosted at the private exhibition space of the Linda Pace Foundation located at 114 Camp Street at 6:00pm.

A special partnership with Contemporary Art Month will treat us on Friday, March 25 from 7p.m.- 9p.m. to open visitation of the Linda Pace Foundation offices with installations from the Foundation’s collection. Unifying the arts community, these displayed works are riddled with talent from both internationally-renowned, local and former Artpace residents.

As expected, space is limited for the Glenn Ligon conversation and reception. However, reservations can be made by emailing rsvp@pacefound.org after March 1, 2012.

For more information about TEN THOUSAND WAVES and its supporters, please visit www.isaacjulien.com/tenthousandwaves. To learn more about the Linda Pace Foundation, click www.lindapacefoundation.org or become a fan on Facebook and follow on Twitter @LindaPaceFndn.