Elana Mann (born November 26, 1982) is a

contemporary artist Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art i ...

living and working in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Her artwork is a commentary on social issues and politics related to

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

and

nationality Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture. In international law, n ...

Early life

Mann is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and her family was part of the

Reconstructionist Judaism Reconstructionist Judaism () is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish movement based on the concepts developed by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983)—namely, that Judaism as a Civilization, Judaism is a progressively evolving civilization rather ...

movement.

Work

In 2013 the artist created 3 large sculptures for an exhibition at Side Street Projects in Pasadena. Mann was inspired by listening technology used between World War I and World War II.

Exchange Rate 2008

Exchange rate: 2008, was organized by Elana Mann in response to the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Thirty-eight artists living in sixteen countries participated in the project. With the aid of the websit
exchangerate2008.com
participating artists produced, exchanged, and interpreted performance directions related to the election campaign. A book was published that documented the project.

ARLA

ARLA was formed by Mann, vocal artist Juliana Snapper, filmmaker Vera Brunner-Sung, and choreographer Kristen Smiarowski. ARLA is a flexiable acronym for Audile Receptives Los Angeles or A Ripe Little Archive. The group came together to study scores and techniques of listening developed by composer

Pauline Oliveros Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...

. ARLA led workshops, listening sessions, discussion groups and did several performances most notably at Occupy LA and the

Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...

. ARLA also published the People's Microphony Song Book, a book of performance scores that utilize the Peoples Microphone. When asked about how she felt about her scores being re-performed Pauline Oliveros said "I am happy that Elana Mann chose to use my Sonic Meditations for the People’s Microphony project. These pieces are meant for anyone that wants to perform them regardless of musical training.”

Chann & Mann

Since 2005, Elana Mann and Audrey Chann, have collaborated under the moniker Chann & Mann. The duo formed during their studies at the California Institute of the Arts. They had their first retrospective "Chann & Mhann: A Historical Retrospective" at Elephant Art Space. Chan & Mann reperformed

Leslie Labowitz-Starus Leslie Labowitz-Starus is an American performance artist and urban farmer based in Los Angeles. Leslie Labowitz-Starus' work is in the permanent collection of the Hammer Museum and has been included in exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary A ...

Myths of Rape at the 2012 LA Art Show. Chan & Mann organized Shares & Stakeholders: The Feminist Art Project Day of Panels at the 2012 College Art Association Conference at the

Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai ...

. In 2013 Chan and Mann had a solo exhibition at the Ben Maltz Gallery at the

Otis College of Art and Design Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aero ...

called The glass ceiling is a glass hyman pierced by a glass dildo inside a larger glass vagina.

Chats About Change

"Chats About Change: Critical Conversations on Art and Politics in Los Angeles” was a two-day event organized by artists Elana Mann and Robby Herbst. The program was hosted by

Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Located in Hollywood, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) is a nonprofit exhibition space and archive of the visual arts for the city of Los Angeles, California, United States, currently under the leadership of Sarah Russin. History In ...

and the student union at Cal State L.A. A series of discussions amongst artist and activists, it included panels such as "navigating L.A.’s landscapes in ecologically conscious ways", “How Can I Participate?” and “Creative Dissonance,”.

Years of Wonder

"Years of Wonder" is a solo exhibit by Elana Mann through 2020-2021. Years of Wonder is a book created by Geraldine Brooks that inspired Mann to create a visual and sonic scenery of the global pandemic. Mann wanted to describe the civil and social unrest and the complete division from the presidential election. Years of Wonder exhibit took place in Santa Monica, CA and San Antonio, TX.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Elana 1982 births Living people Performance art in Los Angeles American installation artists Washington University in St. Louis alumni California Institute of the Arts alumni American Reconstructionist Jews