The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)
June 8, 2023
A co-presentation by Active Cultures and MOCA, curated by Sarah Cooper
50 artists, 6 chefs
A marathon of 2 minute performances
Taking inspiration from Soup & Tart, an event devised by Fluxus artist Jean Dupuy in 1974 and held at The Kitchen in downtown New York, Soup & Tart: Los Angeles brings together fifty artists, musicians, and dancers from across Los Angeles’ cultural landscape, inviting them to use two minutes in any way they like: an improvisation, song, action, movement, or text.
As the performances rolled on, a lineup of LA chefs served up their take on soup and tarts for all. During the 1974 happening, bowls of lentil soup and French apple tarts were served when artists such as Phillip Glass, Yvonne Rainer, Arthur Russell, Laurie Anderson, Gordon Matta-Clark, Hannah Wilke, Richard Serra, and Joan Jonas entertained the crowd.
Just as Dupuy’s Soup & Tart took place in a pivotal moment for the artists of its generation, this experiment aims to ask what the models of earlier avant-gardes can reveal in the here and now.
