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Institute of Contemporary Art Miami

In Conversation with Eileen Myles

In Conversation with Eileen Myles

ICA Miami welcomed renowned author Eileen Myles to ICA Ideas, who presented works of poetry, literature and criticism on the final day of Shannon Ebner’s solo exhibition, “A Public Character.” Myles contributed a new work of criticism to Shannon Ebner’s catalogue, A Public Character, published by ICA Miami.

Eileen Myles (born 1949; Boston, MA) is the author of nineteen books including I Must Be Living Twice: New & Selected Poems, and a reissue of Chelsea Girls, both out in fall 2015, from Ecco/Harper Collins. She has worked in fiction, nonfiction, and theater. After graduating with a BA from the University of Massachusetts Boston, Myles moved to New York and joined the St. Mark’s Poetry Project, where she served as artistic director from 1984 to 1986. Her mentors included Alice Notley, Paul Violi and Ted Berrigan, and in 1979, she worked as an assistant to poet James Schuyler. She contributes to several publications, including Artforum, Bookforum, The Believer, The Nation, Parkett, H.O.W Journal and Provincetown Arts. Myles is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in nonfiction, an Andy Warhol/Creative Capital art writers’ grant, a Lambda Book Award, the Shelley Prize from the Poetry Society of America, was named to the Slate/Whiting Second Novel List, and received a poetry award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. She lives in Marfa, TX and New York.

Part of Idea 004: Black Box

When used to describe an apparatus, the term “black box” typically suggests some unknown relationship between device input and output—consider, for instance, the following obscure machines: brain, computer, theater. Both installation technique and analogy for the camera, in Shannon Ebner’s hands the Black Box is both cybernetic and self-reflexive, a theatrical model that emphasizes the conditions for input while suggesting simultaneous outcomes.

Event Images

Eileen Myles at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
Eileen Myles at ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Image of Alex Gartenfeld introducing Eileen Myles at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Eileen Myles reading poetry for ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
Eileen Myles at ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Audience listening to Eileen Myles at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Audience listening to Eileen Myles at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Eileen Myles reading poetry during ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
Eileen Myles at ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Eileen Myles, Jacqueline Falcone, ICA Miami Director Ellen Salpeter and O, Miami Poetry Festival Founder Patrick Scott Cunningham at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
Eileen Myles at ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
ICA Miami Director Ellen Salpeter, Deputy Director and Chief Curator Alex Gartenfeld, and poet Eileen Myles pose for a photo during ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
Eileen Myles at ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
ICA Miami Deputy Director and Chief Curator Alex Gartenfeld poses for a photo with Ronni and Andrew Smulian during ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
ICA Miami Director Ellen Salpeter at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
ICA Miami Education Assistant Victor Princiotta with guests at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Guests at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Guests at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Melissa Wallen, Assistant Director of the de la Cruz Collection (center) with guests at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Eileen Myles posing for a photo at ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
Eileen Myles at ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.
Image of the renown poet Eileen Myles reading poetry during ICA IDEAS, ICA Miami
Eileen Myles at ICA Ideas. Photo: Alex Markow.