Carlson/Strom
Ann Carlson Mary Ellen Strom snapped by Allen Ginsberg in his kitchen, 2am March 24, 1990. Ann Carlson was choreographer for Philip Glass’ Hydrogen Jukebox opera, using Allen’s poems as libretta, which premiered two months after this photo was taken. Carlson, a dancer & choreographer; and Strom, a video artist known for her temporary public artworks and video/performance installations; are now lifelong partners. They began collaborating around this time, and continue doing so to this day.
Photo: Allen Ginsberg, Allen Ginsberg Estate
Choreographer Ann Carlson and visual artist Mary Ellen Strom (Carlson/ Strom) create interdisciplinary research-driven artworks through collaboration and co-creation with communities. Their projects engage deeply with place, working with land, water, animals, plants, and human presence through site-specific public art, video installation, and live, in-situ performance.
Carlson/Strom have co-authored numerous artworks exploring themes of justice, history, immigration, labor, intra-species collaboration, the environment, and the lasting impacts of European colonization. Grounded in place-based / embodied research and socially engaged art practices, they bring together artists, scientists, and humanities scholars who share a cross-disciplinary, community-centered approach.
Their projects have been commissioned, exhibited, and presented globally, including at MoCA, Los Angeles; MoMA, New York; ICA, Philadelphia; the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston; MFA, Boston; Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH; Pompidou Centre-Metz, Paris; Hayward Gallery, London; Nagoya Museum of Art and the Nagoya Triennial, Japan; the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne; and the DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA.
Carlson/Strom have also been artists -in-residence at Bellagio Center Residency Program, Rockefeller Foundation, Lake Como, Italy; Bogliasco Foundation, Liguria Center for Arts and Humanities, Bogliasco, Italy; Headlands Center for the Arts, Marin, CA; and Ucross Foundation (Claremont, WY), among others.
