Replenish: Naama Tsabar

Season of Change by Naama Tsabar

For the final iteration of Replenish, artist Naama Tsabar presents the listener with the choice to either succumb or be freed.

The composition is a movement from lyrical structure into a sonic-landscape that envelopes and surrounds, in which we can momentarily drown or be liberated. In this sonic landscape field recordings of Brood X cicadas are fused with live and edited studio recordings of female vocalists.

The piece is an excerpt from the album “Perimeters”, a live recording of a performance that took place in the Bass Museum. In the performance sculptural works from the “Melodies of Certain Damage” and “Inversion” series are activated.

In “Melodies of Certain Damage” the break is no longer an end point; pieces of broken guitars on the floor are turned back into instruments through new sets of hardware, microphones and strings. The “Inversion” works are sonic chambers that are embedded in the architecture of the space. Holes in the wall serve as openings into these hidden spaces. Penetrating and moving through the unseen space with body and voice activates the otherwise hidden structures with sound, realizing an ability to be heard. 

“Perimeters” was written through a collaboration with Ale Campos, Fielded, Gabriela  Burdsall, Gabrielle Sheerer, Lee Muze, Naama Tsabar, Robbi Robsta, and Sarah Strauss. Mixed and mastered by Cody Engstrom.

About The Artist

Naama Tsabar’s practice fuses elements from sculpture, music, performance and architecture. Her interactive works expose hidden spaces and systems, reconceive gendered narratives, and shift the viewing experience to one of active participation.

Tsabar draws attention to the muted and unseen by propagating sound through space and sculptural form. Between sculpture and instrument, form and sound, Tsabar’s work lingers on the intimate, sensual and corporeal potentials within this transitional state. Collaborating with local communities of female identifying and gender non-conforming performers, Tsabar writes a new feminist and queer history of fluency.

Naama Tsabar (b. 1982, Israel) lives and works in New York. She received her MFA from Columbia University in 2010. Solo exhibitions and performances of Tsabar have been presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), Museum of Art and Design (New York), The High Line Art (New York), Nasher Museum (Durham, NC), Kunsthaus Baselland (Switzerland), Palais De Tokyo (Paris), Prospect New Orleans, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, The Herziliya Museum for Contemporary Art in Israel, MARTE-C (El Salvador), CCA Tel Aviv (Israel), Faena Buenos Aires, Frieze Projects New York, Kasmin (New York), Paramo Gallery (Guadalajara), Dvir Gallery (Israel and Brussels), Spinello Projects (Miami) Shulamit Nazarian (Los Angeles), The Bass Museum (Miami), Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (Connecticut). Selected group exhibitions featuring Tsabar’s work include, The Andy Warhol Museum, The Jewish Museum of Belgium, Ballroom Marfa, Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Elevation 1049 Gstaad (Switzerland), TM Triennale, Hasselt Genk, Belgium, ‘Greater New York’ 2010 at MoMA PS1, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens (Belgium), The Bucharest Biennale for Young Artists, Hessel Museum of Art at CCS Bard, Casino Luxembourg (Luxembourg), ExtraCity in Antwerp (Belgium), Moody Center for the Arts (Houston). Tsabar’s work has been featured in publications including  ArtForum, Art In America, ArtReview, ARTnews, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Frieze, Bomb Magazine, Art Asia Pacific, Wire, and Whitewall, among others.

Tsabar's work is held in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Seattle Art Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Bass Museum, PAMM, Kadist Collection, Jimenez-Colón Collection, Tel Aviv Museum, Israel Museum, Coleccion Dieresis, The Centre Pompidou and A4 Arts Foundation.

Replenish

Our remote summer series, Replenish will present five artist-designed sound experiences that encourage listeners to take a break and take a breath. Replenish is organized by Emily A. Garner, Senior Manager, Campus and Public Programs, MIT List Visual Arts Center. Artist creating the series' prompts include: Jules Gimbrone, Victoria Shen, Darrin Martin, Lia Chavez, and Naama Tsabar.

Practicing mindfulness allows us to experience art and experience the world slowly and without distraction. As many move swiftly back to the speed of life post-pandemic, more and more artistic practices are calling in these ideas around mindfulness. With a diverse compilation of sound experiences, each artist offers a unique take on what it means to replenish oneself, emphasizing the importance of self-care.

A new iteration of Replenish will be released on the List Center website every other Wednesday, from July 12 to September 6, 2023. Participants are invited to engage with the programs asynchronously throughout the season. Visit the program page to learn more about the series.

Replenish

Our remote summer series, Replenish will present five artist-designed sound experiences that encourage listeners to take a break and take a breath. Replenish is organized by Emily A. Garner, Senior Manager, Campus and Public Programs, MIT List Visual Arts Center. Artist creating the series' prompts include: Jules Gimbrone, Victoria Shen, Darrin Martin, Lia Chavez, and Naama Tsabar.

Practicing mindfulness allows us to experience art and experience the world slowly and without distraction. As many move swiftly back to the speed of life post-pandemic, more and more artistic practices are calling in these ideas around mindfulness. With a diverse compilation of sound experiences, each artist offers a unique take on what it means to replenish oneself, emphasizing the importance of self-care.

A new iteration of Replenish will be released on the List Center website every other Wednesday, from July 12 to September 6, 2023. Participants are invited to engage with the programs asynchronously throughout the season. Visit the program page to learn more about the series.