Before There Was Money There Was Debt:
Anthropologist David Graeber and
Artist Stefanos Tsivopoulos in Conversation
Saturday, February 29, 2020
4 to 6pm
Stefanos Tsivopoulos, History Zero, 2013. Video still. Courtesy of the artist and Prometeogallery di Ida Pisani. [Image Description: A man in a blue t-shirt, gray hoodie, light brown shirt, and brown pants pushes an empty shopping cart on a mostly empty urban street. He looks off to the left with a worried, vigilant expression on his face. Behind him are obscured elements of the street: ads, street lamps, traffic lights, storefronts, and buildings. To his left is a black, parked car.]
The books Toward an Anthropological Theory of Value: The False Coin of Our Own Dreams and The First 5,000 Years, by writer and anthropologist David Graeber, are featured within Stefanos Tsivopoulos’ installation, Alternative Currencies: An Archive and A Manifesto, currently on view at The 8th Floor in Relational Economies: Labor over Capital. In the piece, the artist examines disparate notions of monetary value in the context of global economic instability. Tsivopoulos' archive is shown in tandem with History Zero (2013), a triptych of films portraying three characters who have distinctly different relationships to material wealth, exploring the impact of money on human interactions. Graeber and Tsivopoulos discussed the anthropological implications of archival practice, and the 32 alternative currencies on view in the gallery. Graeber’s theories on the origins of currency and his charting of the 5000 plus years of elaborate credit systems that predate the invention of coin or cash figured into the discussion on the emergence of currencies and how debt is imposed or forgiven in today’s global economy.
From 5:30 to 7pm, Alternative Currencies: An Archive and A Manifesto was activated by performance artist Rebecca Pristoop. The artwork will be activated a final time by Pristoop on Saturday, March 7 from 5:30-7pm as part of our closing event After the Order - Conversation with Anetta Mona Chisa.
Bios
David Graeber is a professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics. An activist and writer, he is the author of the international best-seller Debt: The First 5,000 Years and several other critically acclaimed titles including Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, The Utopia of Rules, and The Democracy Project. Widely regarded as one of the preeminent anthropologists working today, he speaks to popular and academic audiences.
Rebecca Pristoop is a New York-based curator, performance artist, and collaborator committed to working with art through the lens of social justice. She is a lifelong educator with a record of curating exhibitions and organizing programs that prioritize marginalized stories. As a performance artist, Pristoop integrates intuitive movement with site and context responsive narratives. Her solo work interrogates autobiography and relational dynamics, while her collaborations emerge in response to researching specific sites and histories. Pristoop also directs The Moving Company, a performance art ensemble that collectively creates site-responsive pieces to bring attention to various histories, communities, and the social and emotional textures of each performance venue. As a curator she has contributed to and curated exhibitions at museums, galleries, universities, and alternative spaces. Pristoop received a MA in Art History from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts and a BA in Art History and Dance from Skidmore College.
Stefanos Tsivopoulos is an interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker who has exhibited extensively in art institutions and film festivals worldwide. In 2013, he represented Greece at the 55th Venice Biennial with the multimedia installation History Zero. He has also exhibited in documenta 14, Kassel, Germany, in 2017; the 2nd Beijing Biennial, in 2014; and Manifesta 8, Murcia, Spain, in 2010.
Tsivopoulos has participated in several renowned international residencies including the Rijksakademie van Beeldende kunsten Amsterdam, IASPIS Stockholm, Platform Garanti Istanbul, and ISCP New York City. His numerous awards include the Mondriaan Foundation Production Award, the Onnassis Cultural Foundation New York Commission, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Award, and the Greek Ministry of Culture Venice Biennale Commission.
Tsivopoulos’s work has appeared recently in solo exhibitions at the MuCEM, Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean, Marseille; Staatsgalerie Stuttgart; Cycladic Museum of Art, Athens; Stella Art Foundation, Moscow; and ISCP, New York among others. International group exhibitions include Tate Modern, London; MACBA, Barcelona; MUKHA, Antwerp; Kunsthaus, Zurich; Bundeskunsthalle Bonn; Haus Der Culturen Der Welt, Berlin; SALT, Istanbul; BAK Basis voor Aktuele Kunst, Utrecht; LEEUM, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul; and the Centre Pompidou Paris, among others.