A digital artwork that fosters cross-cultural exchange through the journey of the monarch butterfly
PERSONAL EXHIBITION October 27, 2022 to March 26, 2023
PUBLIC SCHEDULE AND PROJECT NEWS Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 7:00 PM EST | RSVP here
El Museo del Barrio is pleased to present Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah, from October 27, 2022 to March 26, 2023. Conceived by Cuban-born, Houston-based artist Reynier Levya Novo, the digital artwork virtually reproduces the 5,000-mile migratory stream . the journey of a single monarch butterfly, following its journey from southern Canada across the United States to Mexico. Embodied in the lifetime of a virtual avatar, the epic journey is staged and replayed in real-time on a dedicated, purpose-built, open-access website. Commissioned by El Museo del Barrio with support from the VIA Art Fund, the in-person mixed reality presentation at El Museo debuts in conjunction with the upcoming fall exhibit, Juan Francisco Elso: Por América.
Working with butterfly experts, taxidermists, animators, computer modelers and software designers for over a year, artist Novo translated the monarch butterfly from an analog specimen into a digital animation. Accessible online, the virtual avatar can be observed 24 hours a day over a year-long cycle as it flutters, flies, feeds and rests with the ease and delicacy of a real insect. At any given time, the software program determines the butterfly’s movements in space, relying on multiple data points related to the monarch’s migration patterns. No single movement observed is the same. This presentation offers viewers a privileged and unprecedented glimpse into a day in the life of a single monarch butterfly, a phenomenon that until recently was impossible to observe or track.
The title of the work, Methuselah, refers to the fourth generation of monarchs in each annual cycle. Weighing less than a gram each and living only two to six weeks, monarch butterflies need four generations of offspring to complete their annual migration. Born further north, Methuselah’s generation lives longer than other travelers born further south. With this extended lifespan, it is able to complete the epic transcontinental migration each year, allowing for the survival of its species.
In tracing the monarch’s flight across the Americas, Methusaleh addresses larger contemporary issues related to migration, climate change, and the necessity of transnational cooperation, as expressed in the life of one particular specimen. Drawing attention to the false security of borders, the artwork offers a critical metaphor for twenty-first century existence, made all the more poignant by the monarch’s recent categorization as an endangered species.
PROJECT LAUNCH AND CONVERSATION | SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
Methuselah is released online to the public on September 22 (October 27 in person), coinciding with the fall equinox and the start of the monarch migration. Starting on this date, viewers can observe the virtual avatar 24 hours a day as it makes its way south through changing terrain, weather patterns and other changing physical conditions. To celebrate the event, artist Reynier Leyva Novo will join 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 path across the Americas. To RSVP, visit elmuseo.org.
INSTALLATION | OCTOBER 27, 2022 – MARCH 26, 2023
Opening on October 27 at El Museo del Barrio, Methuselah will be presented in Room 110 as an immersive mixed reality installation. There, museum visitors will be able to observe and experience the movements and behavior of the monarch in a shared environment, where they can follow the butterfly as it flies around them. Along with the specimen’s flight pattern, viewers will have access to up-to-date data, such as the butterfly’s geographic coordinates, time and weather.
Visitors are invited to experience the monarch’s movements and behavior in a shared environment through the use of a holographic device. As the technology responds to movement in each space, guests will be allowed to enter the installation space four people at a time.
ABOUT REYNIER LEYVA NEW
Reynier Leyva Novo (b. 1983, Havana, Cuba and based in Houston, Texas) is one of Cuba’s leading conceptual artists. Novo’s practice challenges ideology and symbols of power, challenging notions of an individual’s ability to effect change. His multidisciplinary practice involves mining historical records and official documents, the content of which he transforms into formally minimalist and conceptual sculptures and multimedia installations. Novo’s artworks have been presented at the Liverpool Biennale (2010), the Venice Biennale (2011, 2017), the Havana Biennale (2015, 2019), the Shanghai Biennale (2018), the Ghetto Biennale in Port-au-Prince, Aichi ( 20). Triennial (2019), among others. His art has been collected by international art museums and institutions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Bronx Museum of Art, New York; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Pérez Art Museum, Miami; Museo de Bellas Artes de Habana; and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, among others.
After the presentation at El Museo, the digital artwork will travel to the Phoenix Art Museum, where it will be on display from May 6, 2023 to September 17, 2023, later at the Museum of Contemporary Art Miami in late Fall/Winter 2023. .
THE SPONSORS
Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah was commissioned by El Museo del Barrio through the generous support of the VIA Art Fund.
The project is presented in conjunction with 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 the VIA Art Fund and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation. Supported in part with public funds by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD MUSEUM
El Museo del Barrio is the main cultural institution of the Latinx country and Latin America. The museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, various exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals and special events.
The museum is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street in New York City. The museum is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Pay what you want. To connect with El Museo through social media, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.
