Maura Brewer: The New Show at Hayden Planetarium

December 09, 2010
7:30 – 9 pm
Presented by Elysian Park Museum of Art

The Elysian Park Museum of Art Visitor’s Center presents a one-night screening of Maura Brewer’s animation The New Show at the Hayden Planetarium, a three-part animation that joins science, humor, and personal narrative to investigate the cultural status of the planetarium. Combining appropriated audio from the Hayden Planetarium’s 2001 show “Passport to the Universe” with stop motion animation, The New Show at the Hayden Planetarium refigures the planetarium as coping mechanism, simultaneously provoking anxiety and offering reassurance — “Where am I? How did I get here?” and “Why does Tom Hanks remind me of my dad?”

Using source material derived from PBS documentaries, museum displays and science fiction, Maura Brewer’s work examines the ways that popular media consolidates and destabilizes the subject through a web of identifications. She appropriates narratives about parasites, cannibals, planetariums and organ transplants to address issues of personal history and kinship.

Maura Brewer’s research-driven studio practice results in a variety of media, including animation and video. She is a southern California based artist, currently pursuing her MFA in the Visual Art Department at UC Irvine. Her work has been most recently exhibited at the UAG Gallery in Irvine and at Chung King Projects in Los Angeles. Learn more about The New Show at the Hayden Planetarium and see more of her work on her website.