Photo courtesy Reynier Leyva Novo.
Artist conversation between guest curator Olga Viso and artist Reynier Leyva Novo, moderated by curator Susanna V. Temkin.
About this event
Join El Museo del Barrio for the virtual launch of an unprecedented new digital artwork created by the Cuban-born artist Reynier Leyva Novo. Entitled Methuselah and commissioned through the generous support of VIA Art Fund, the artwork virtually reproduces the 6,000 mile migratory journey of a single monarch butterfly, tracking its travel from southern Canada across the United States to Mexico during its eight-month annual reproductive cycle. Embodied through the life of a virtual avatar, the epic journey is hosted and reproduced in real time on a specially designed, open-access, dedicated website, and accompanies an augmented-reality presentation hosted at El Museo in conjunction with the exhibition, Juan Francisco Elso: Por América, opening October 27, 2022.
To celebrate the launch of the project, artist Reynier Leyva Novo will join guest curator Olga Viso in an online conversation and project demonstration moderated by El Museo organizing curator Susanna V. Temkin. Free and open to the public, this event is held in partnership with a community of nearly 20 international cultural organizations, whose transnational locations echo the monarch’s pathway across the Americas.
Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah is commissioned by El Museo del Barrio through the generous support of VIA Art Fund.
The project is presented in relation to the exhibition, Juan Francisco Elso: Por América, which is made possible thanks to major support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support is provided by Tony Bechara; Celso Gonzalez-Falla; Craig Robins; Steven and Judy Shank, and John Thomson. Commissions are made possible by Via Art Fund and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation. Supported in part with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.