Bruce Nauman, Untitled,
1969/2009, (LEAVE THE LAND ALONE)
A skywriting performance over The Arroyo Seco in Pasadena
Performance: Saturday, September 12, between 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

The sky above the Arroyo Seco will be transformed by a never-before produced work by noted American artist Bruce Nauman. This major work takes the form of skywriting that will say, in Nauman’s classic humor, “Leave the Land Alone.” Nauman developed this project for an exhibition about Earth Art in 1969 but it was never produced. The Armory Center for the Arts brings Nauman’s art back to Pasadena where the artist once lived and worked. This performance marks his first solo institutional project in the Los Angeles area since 1994. The viewing is free and open to the public.

Four of the Armory’s partner organizations will host select viewing locations for the Bruce Nauman performance over the Arroyo Seco from 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Each group will be present to meet and greet as well as provide more information about the exhibition. Lineage Dance will host La Loma Bridge in the lower Arroyo Seco, NewTown will be present on the west end of the Colorado Street Bridge while the Pasadena Arts Council hosts the east end. Side Street Projects will be parked in the parking lot of Brookside Park, at the corner of Arroyo Blvd. and Seco St. Come out and enjoy this special performance that initiates the Armory’s 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Installations Inside/Out.

Daniel Buren, A Rainbow in the Sky
A temporary site-specific artwork by Daniel Buren One Colorado Courtyard – off Colorado Blvd. between Fair Oaks Ave. and Raymond Ave., Pasadena
Installation: August 15 – November 15, 2009

Internationally celebrated artist Daniel Buren returns to Pasadena with a large-scale site-specific artwork in the One Colorado Courtyard. The installation,

A Rainbow in the Sky, consists of nearly 3,000 colorful striped flags suspended over this public courtyard. Buren’s design introduces a rainbow of color, with the flags hovering like an open “ceiling” overhead. A Rainbow in the Sky is presented by One Colorado, Armory Center for the Arts, and FLAX. Additional support for this work is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. The installation is free and open to the public.

Edgar Arceneaux, Old Man Hill
St. Andrew Catholic Church
311 N. Raymond Ave. Pasadena
Performance: Saturday, September 19, 9 p.m. (part of the exhibition’s opening reception)

Edgar Arceneaux screens a short video performance of the work entitled Old Man Hill on the facade of St. Andrew Catholic Church, one block north of the Armory. Old Man Hill is set in Sarajevo and attempts to address the magnitude of the 1995 massacre while referencing Arceneaux's grandfather, known as Old Man Hill, who both he and his father never knew. During the performance, individual balloons spelling out the title of the piece are released, while slowly eliminating the meaning of the phrase until all the balloons, and letters, are gone.

Jane Mulfinger, Autonomy is No Longer Possible or Interesting
at the intersection of Raymond Ave. and Colorado Blvd., Pasadena
Performance: Saturday, September 19, 7 p.m. (part of the exhibition’s opening reception)

Artist Jane Mulfinger has worked with drama students from Pasadena City College to create a highly condensed version of a famous play which will be presented in the intersection of Raymond Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, a major Pasadena thoroughfare and the site of the City's famous Rose Parade. This intersection is completely closed to automobile traffic for about 15 seconds while pedestrians cross it in any direction. The mini-plays will happen at unexpected times and bring this fragment of performing arts directly to the public.

Jane Mulfinger, Autonomy is No Longer Possible or Interesting
YWCA building
78 N. Marengo Ave., Pasadena
Installation: September 19 – December 31, 2009

Jane Mulfinger will exhibit Autonomy Is No Longer Possible or Interesting, at the former YWCA building near Pasadena's City Hall. This interactive piece will allow visitors to illuminate a chandelier inside the building through the act of exercising on stationary bikes placed outside the front entrance to the building.

Matthew Moore, urban transplanter
733 N. Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena
Installation: September 19 – December 31, 2009

Matthew Moore’s sculpture, located in a deserted lot on North Fair Oaks Ave., is a completely self-contained and automated sculpture that produces free organic vegetable seedlings for Pasadena community members to grow in their own gardens. Each day the urban transplanter produces up to 15 pods containing 4 seedlings in each pod. In the end, the success of this piece is dependent upon interactivity with the community.

Barbara T. Smith, A Meditation on Time
Installation & Performance: September 19 – December 31, 2009
Download Barbara T. Smith’s knitting locations and dates

A Meditation on Time is a performance about memory and the passing of the artist’s years in Pasadena. In this performance, Smith uses the act of knitting to represent duration and nostalgia for her past. The artist begins knitting at the exhibition opening and will knit at 14 other locations in the city throughout the duration of the show. Her knitted work from each site will be continually added to a long line which will be on display at the Armory.

Rudy Perez, Surrender Dorothy and open suite/Whoosh The Traffic (a new piece in honor of Perez’ mentor Merce Cunningham)
All Saints Church, Sweetland Hall
132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena
Performances: October 23 & 24, 2009, 8 p.m.

Rudy Perez will perform these two works at Sweetland Hall, All Saints Episcopal Church. Special guests include Steve Moshier & the Liquid Skin Ensemble, with soprano Linda Brown. Admission is free. Limited space available. Reservations required. Call 626.792.5101 x122.

Barry McGee, untitled
2 E. Holly Street, Pasadena
Installation: September 19 – December 31, 2009
Space is open to the public Saturdays and Sundays noon – 5 p.m.

Given his sources in street art, Barry McGee’s temporary work for the exhibition is unusual compared to the normal site of an outdoor painting. The artist chose an unused storefront near the Armory. McGee’s work, covering almost all the walls of the store, is made up of a large number of his complex geometric paintings on thin pieces of wood on which he has done additional painting.