FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Meredith Danluck
Drinkability
May 29 – July 18, 2009
Renwick Gallery is pleased to present "Drinkability", Meredith Danluck's second solo show at the gallery, the show will feature photographs and sculpture exploring the characters and landscapes of the American West.
Danluck's new photo series, made over a two-year period of time, is conceived of as American portraiture of the contemporary west. Though the iconic 'West' is well defined in the collective conscious, the details and actualities of the contemporary west, are little known to those who live outside of its realities. The contemporary west, no longer determined by a particular geographical boundary, is determined by new versions of freedom, independence, success and money. In "Drinkability", Danluck mines the myths and conflicts of manifest destiny and reinvention and how these dreams and realities are still lived today. Concurrently, Danluck filmed her first feature length documentary, "The Ride", which uses the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) as a gateway to a subculture that embodies these ideas.
"The Ride" will be screened in an exclusive preview for MoMA PopRally on Sunday, May 31, 2009. Danluck spent a year with professional bull riders, exploring the lives of modern cowboys in the American West. The Ride follows its subjects inside and outside the ring, from Professional Bull Riders CEO Randy Bernard to champion riders Rocky McDonald and Justin McBride to bull-riding hopeful (and Amish cowboy) Willy Ropp. The scope of charismatic characters leads us through the unexplored existence of the modern cowboy, breathing life into the classic cowboy myth of the patriot and rebel, and the outlaw and saint. The film explores what it means to be a cowboy in the days of fences, as well as what it means to be American in the days of diminishing freedoms.
Please find details for tickets here: http://www.moma.org/poprally/upcoming
Meredith Danluck lives and work in NYC as a visual artist, documentary filmmaker, film editor and producer. Museum shows include "Stuff" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, 2007; "Compulsive" at the Palais du Tokyo, Paris, 2007; and "Musicians, Criticism and Interpretation" at the Reina Sofia Museum, 2006.
For additional information, please contact Christine Messineo by calling 212.609.3535 or emailing christine@renwickgallery.com.