[Art / Activism / Context / Surveillance]

Event description: Held on Zoom

This lecture traces the development of Beirne’s activist art and performance practice in relation to some precedents in modern art history. 

The artist will present selections from his work since the early ’70s that address political and sociological concerns. Also, Beirne will discuss the genesis and implementation of Priority Seating, his participatory work created for the UnHomeless NYC exhibition, with special attention to surveillance.

Bill Beirne currently lives and works in New York City. For more than four decades, Beirne’s conceptual art has examined public space, communication, interactivity, and sociological concerns through public performances. In addition to exhibitions in the US and in Eastern and Western Europe, he was commissioned by the Madison Square Park Conservancy’s public art series, Madison Square Art. In his video installation and performance Madison Square Trapezoids, Beirne,  as “The Vigilant Groundsman,” performed absurdist lawn maintenance tasks within the boundaries of live surveillance-monitored areas of the park.