Zoe Beloff "Dreamland: The Coney Island Amateur Psychoanalytic Society and its Circle, 1926-1972"
10 Oct - 28 Nov 2010
For the exhibition at KIOSK, artist Zoe Beloff (°1958, Edinburgh, Scotland) proposed to adapt her most recent project to the particular architecture of KIOSK. “Dreamland: The Coney Island Amateur Psychoanalytic Society and its Circle” originated in 2009, when the Coney Island museum invited Zoe Beloff to create an exhibition in celebration of the centennial of Sigmund Freud’s visit to Coney Island.
Beloff resurrected the forgotten world of the Coney Island Amateur Psychoanalytic Society, along with the visionary ideas of its founder, Albert Grass. The lively exhibition was well received by the public and the project was covered by the New York Times, Art in America and Cabinet. The show features “dream films” made by members of this society, a working model of an amusement park designed by Albert Grass to illustrate Freud’s theories, as well as drawings, letters and many unusual artefacts. The KIOSK-version of this exhibition project is enhanced with the introduction of an exciting series of comic strip-like graphic explorations. The exhibition at KIOSK was initiated by Belgian curator and researcher Edwin Carels.
Beloff works with a wide range of media including film, stereoscopic projection performance, interactive media, installation and drawing. Her artistic interest lies in finding ways to graphically manifest the unconscious processes of the mind. Therefore her role as an artist can be considered as an interface between the real and the imaginary. The exhibition’s depiction of historical artefacts highlights the ambiguity of Beloff’s role in its creation. When visitors enter her version of “Dreamland”, they are entirely free to form their own opinion. Beloff has a very personal way of eliding the role of archivist and creator in conjuring up Coney Island’s hidden history.
Zoe Beloff moved to New York in 1980 to study at Columbia University where she received an MFA in Film. Her work has been featured in international exhibitions and screenings at venues including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Freud Dream Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. In 2009 she participated in the Athens Biennale, and she has an upcoming project in M HKA Museum in Antwerp. She has been working with the Christine Burgin Gallery on a number of projects, including prints and books. The exhibition in the Coney Island Museum was accompanied with a book and a DVD published by Christine Burgin and edited by Zoe Beloff, The Coney Island Amateur Psychoanalytic Society and its Circle. Beloff’s new book, “The Adventures of a Dreamer by Albert Grass”, will be launched in KIOSK during the opening. A more extensive biography can be found on her website www.zoebeloff.com.
The artist would like to thank Eric Muzzy, director of the Coney Island Museum Aaron Beebe, Christine Burgin and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Beloff resurrected the forgotten world of the Coney Island Amateur Psychoanalytic Society, along with the visionary ideas of its founder, Albert Grass. The lively exhibition was well received by the public and the project was covered by the New York Times, Art in America and Cabinet. The show features “dream films” made by members of this society, a working model of an amusement park designed by Albert Grass to illustrate Freud’s theories, as well as drawings, letters and many unusual artefacts. The KIOSK-version of this exhibition project is enhanced with the introduction of an exciting series of comic strip-like graphic explorations. The exhibition at KIOSK was initiated by Belgian curator and researcher Edwin Carels.
Beloff works with a wide range of media including film, stereoscopic projection performance, interactive media, installation and drawing. Her artistic interest lies in finding ways to graphically manifest the unconscious processes of the mind. Therefore her role as an artist can be considered as an interface between the real and the imaginary. The exhibition’s depiction of historical artefacts highlights the ambiguity of Beloff’s role in its creation. When visitors enter her version of “Dreamland”, they are entirely free to form their own opinion. Beloff has a very personal way of eliding the role of archivist and creator in conjuring up Coney Island’s hidden history.
Zoe Beloff moved to New York in 1980 to study at Columbia University where she received an MFA in Film. Her work has been featured in international exhibitions and screenings at venues including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Freud Dream Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. In 2009 she participated in the Athens Biennale, and she has an upcoming project in M HKA Museum in Antwerp. She has been working with the Christine Burgin Gallery on a number of projects, including prints and books. The exhibition in the Coney Island Museum was accompanied with a book and a DVD published by Christine Burgin and edited by Zoe Beloff, The Coney Island Amateur Psychoanalytic Society and its Circle. Beloff’s new book, “The Adventures of a Dreamer by Albert Grass”, will be launched in KIOSK during the opening. A more extensive biography can be found on her website www.zoebeloff.com.
The artist would like to thank Eric Muzzy, director of the Coney Island Museum Aaron Beebe, Christine Burgin and the New York State Council on the Arts.