Vox Vernacular
New York Public Library
May. 21 - May. 21, 2014
Over the years Oursler has worked with a tight group of performers for his uncanny installations. For this event many of his performers come together for the first time to deliver excepts of these texts live. They perform selections from Tony Oursler's new book Vox Vernacular, recreating Oursler's video installations and sculptures in a dynamic live reading.
Tony Oursler / Vox Vernacular compiles fifty transcripts of Oursler's videos, offering an entirely new way to apprehend the nuances of his work. The selection of pieces featured in the book date from between 1977 and 2013, spanning nearly the entirety of Oursler's practice. Adding valuable context are scholarly essays explaining Oursler's creative process and full-color illustrations of his videos. Among other revelations, these transcripts show that Oursler is not merely a video artist, but a writer as well. The vernacular language that Oursler employs is written to be spoken by "electronic entities" and carries a sort of musical cadence that makes his text surprisingly lyrical. This comprehensive anthology uncovers the poetry in Oursler's work and captures the unique nature of his artistic voice.