Max Pulsinelli, mpulsinelli@wcs.org or (718) 220-5182
Dear Mr. Pulsinelli,
I am an artist residing in New York City whose goal is to create conceptual artworks; works that disregard stereotypical art mediums so as to focus attention on the idea rather than materiality. My request is directed to you because I believe you are the most appropriate of contacts listed on the Prospect Park Zoo Contact website to field my inquiry.
I noticed that of all New York City-based zoos Prospect Park is the only one to have a kangaroo, specifically the Western Gray Kangaroo. In short: I propose that any current unnamed baby or adult kangaroos or one future kangaroo, born in or brought to the Prospect Park Zoo, be officially named “Joey Syta”, which is my name.
I am unfamiliar with the naming process of animals that make their way into zoos but figured that my name is especially appropriate on a literal level and also a metaphorical, arguably spiritual level, based on the following reasoning: When naming someone (human, animal) or something (object, artwork) automatic subjective associations are created by the interpreter and projected onto that named thing. By naming a kangaroo “Joey Syta”, and in doing so realizing an artwork, the kangaroo would become me and in a way I would become a kangaroo and the zoo would subsequently transform into an art venue. This transference of the self could be interpreted as a premature reincarnation of sorts while also satisfying my goal as an artist to translate everyday or commonplace activities and environments into art-making and viewing environs.
As far as I envision my project should not actually interrupt or affect the life of the chosen kangaroo in any negative way. This project would only hopefully bring positive attention to the Prospect Park Zoo and possibly establish it and the Wildlife Conservation Society as organizations that attract and support the greater artistic community.
If my project was to be realized I would only ask that some sort of certificate of authenticity be provided by the zoo establishing that the name of the chosen kangaroo is in fact “Joey Syta” and that at some point after this official naming I am granted permission to take photographs and/or video of Joey Syta (the kangaroo). Please understand that this proposal is completely serious although I am conscious of the elements of absurdity and humor that possibly arise in interpreting such a proposal.
I greatly look forward to your response. If you believe that someone else working within the Prospect Park Zoo or Wildlife Conservation Society is better suited to respond to this proposal I would greatly appreciate if you forwarded our correspondence to any and all appropriate parties. Here is a link to my website that documents some of my completed works: http://joeysyta.com/
Thank you and hope to hear back from you soon.
- Joey Syta
Joey Syta
06/09 - 27/09/14
Opening Saturday 06/09 from 17-19:30
The Chinese European Art Center (CEAC) is pleased to announce an exhibition of new works by Joey Syta titled The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den. This is the American artist’s first solo exhibition in China.
Syta approaches artwork with a sensitivity akin to a linguist. The intricacies and limits of language serve as inspiration to explore the capability of objects acting as communication devices. Through minimal, calculated gestures he alters the structure of familiar forms to unlock or accentuate their latent messages. Logistical constraints, whether material or intangible, often direct those processes. Past works have taken the shape of self-forming molten plastic as well as experimental homemade bismuth crystals. Other more explicitly language-based pieces exposed morphology and syntax as modulated elements. In the works on display at CEAC Syta favors bare methodologies of displacement to strip objects of their functionality yet maintain readability. This propensity towards controlled, non-authoritative simplicity honors his viewpoint that materials and objects come loaded with innumerable subjective characteristics. Analogous to poetry, the most subtle metamorphosis of vernacular, be it visual or experiential, can yield unique formidable presence.
The exhibition title is an homage to the late Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao, whose poem of the same name is a famous example of constrained writing. The modern yet classically written 92-character verse utilizes just one repeated syllable that phonetically varies ever so slightly between the four separate Mandarin Chinese tones. When this cacophonous tongue-twister is only read rather than spoken it relays a grammatically-sound, coherent story. The works in Syta’s exhibition aim to reach a similar paradox of expression: to exist within distinct modalities simultaneously.
Joey Syta was born in Rochester, NY and lives in New York City. He earned his BA in film and video at The Pennsylvania State University and was granted admission into the Dieter Roth Academy by Pétur Kristjánsson during his residency with the Skaftfell Center for Visual Art in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland. The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den is the culmination of Syta’s summer residency with the Chinese European Art Center in Xiamen, China.
The Chinese European Art Center
3rd Floor, Siming South Road 400, Xiamen, Fujian, China
Open Tuesday to Saturday 12:30 – 17:30
T/F: + 86(0)592 2180850 Mobile: + 86(0)13806021762
info@ceac99.com // info@ceac99.org // www.ceac99.org
