Arleen Schloss (b. 1943) has worked interchangeably in a variety of mediums since the 1970s, including performance art, sound poetry, new music, paintings, film, and video. Presented in spaces as varied as the Kitchen, the Museum of Modern Art, the ARS Electronica festival in Austria, and her own home, Schloss’s performances possess a spirit described by Linda Burnham as “a contagious sense of wonder.” These presentations, which could involve Schloss’s cyclical recitation of the alphabet, live painting, closed-circuit video, and music all at once, combined the anti-art whimsy of Fluxus, scientific exploration, Cageian indeterminacy, and a site-specific empathy that makes every act unique.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition “Come Closer: Art Around the Bowery, 1969–1989,” this program featured film and video works created by Schloss in the early 1980s:

How She Sees It By Her (1981/1983, 18 min)
Glenn Branca – Symphony #4/Physics (1984, 14 min)
Windows of Chance/Change (1981)

Sponsors
This program was made possible, in part, through the support of the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
“Come Closer: Art Around the Bowery, 1969–1989” is presented as part of the Bowery Artist Tribute.
The Bowery Artist Tribute is made possible by an endowment established by Hermine and David Heller.
Exhibition support for “Come Closer” is generously provided, in part, by the Robert Mapplethorpe Photography Fund.