Scott Benzel (born 1968 in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

, lives and works in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

), is an American

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

, musician,

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Benzel is a member of the faculty of the School of Art at

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

, Valencia, CA.

Biography

Benzel was born in

, and raised in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. He graduated from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

after undergraduate work at

. In 1998, Benzel returned to

and received his MFA in 2001. Benzel is a member of the faculty of the School of Art at

Work

Benzel's work explores the processes and contradictions inherent in mass media systems of production, the development of collective cultural imaginations and identification, and mythologized cultural histories. Benzel's work has been shown or performed at The

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood, Los Angeles, Brentwood neighborhood ...

, Los Angeles, the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

The Hammer Museum The Hammer Museum, located in Haines, Alaska, U.S., is the first museum in the world dedicated to hammers. The museum was founded in 2002 and became a non-profit organization in 2004. It features over 1,400 hammers and related tools, ranging from ...

, Los Angeles, The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, LAXART, Los Angeles, Maccarone, New York,

Various Small Fires Paris Wells is an Australian singer-songwriter based in Melbourne. She has released two albums and one EP. Wells has played at festivals such as Falls Festival, Big Day Out, Meredith and Sydney Music Festival. She has supported Justin Timberlak ...

, Los Angeles,

Blum & Poe Blum & Poe is a contemporary art gallery located in Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo. Development Blum & Poe was founded by Tim Blum and Jeff Poe in Santa Monica, California, in September 1994. The inaugural exhibition in Santa Monica featured ...

, Los Angeles,

Human Resources Los Angeles Human Resources Los Angeles (HRLA) is a non-profit exhibition and performance space located in Chinatown, Los Angeles, Los Angeles's Chinatown dedicated to supporting interdisciplinary, performative and experimental art practices. History Human R ...

, the Bard Center for Curatorial Studies, the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's o ...

(in collaboration with

Sam Durant Sam Durant (born 1961, in Seattle) is a multimedia artist whose works engage social, political, and cultural issues. Often referencing American history, his work explores culture and politics, engaging subjects such as the civil rights movement, ...

and

Tom Recchion Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

), Performa 09, New York (in collaboration with Mike Kelley), Mandrake, Los Angeles, Art Basel, Miami, and Art Basel: Statements (in collaboration with Andrea Bowers). Benzel collaborated with Mike Kelley on the scores and soundtracks to Kelley’s installations ''Day is Done'' at

Gagosian Gallery Gagosian is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. There are 16 gallery spaces: five in New York City; three in London; two in Par ...

, New York, ''Profondeurs Vertes'' at the

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, Paris, and Kelley and Michael Smith’s ''A Voyage of Growth and Discovery'' at the Sculpture Center, New York and West of Rome, Los Angeles. With Kelley, he composed and produced ''Judson Church Dances'', a live performance of the music of ''Day is Done'' with Kelley at

Judson Church The Judson Memorial Church is located on Washington Square South between Thompson Street and Sullivan Street, near Gould Plaza, opposite Washington Square Park, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It ...

for Performa 09, New York.

Mathesis and Mathematikoi, for string quartet, anvil, dancers, and telescope operator

Performed on the rotating deck of the 100 inch telescope at the

Mt. Wilson Observatory The Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles. The observ ...

, CA, part of Knowledges 2017

The Kouroi/The Society of Dilettanti, for string trio, experimental hardcore trio, voice, and live stream

Musical performance/lecture at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2017

Op. 21: Inner Experience Fellowship/Friends of Crime

Fitzpatrick/Leland House, MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles

Split Chorale for Viljo Revell

Benzel collaborated with Kathryn Andrews on the performance for 300 choristers and video in

Toronto City Hall The Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, is the seat of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Viljo Revell and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in ...

, Toronto, ON, as part of Nuit Blanche, Toronto, 2014

(Threnody) A beginner’s guide to Mao Tse-Tung

Benzel was selected for inclusion in the first Los Angeles biennial, Made in L.A. 2012 at the Hammer Museum, 2012

Maldistribution

Benzel's solo show at Human Resources, Los Angeles, was selected by Artforum and Frieze magazines in their year-end Best of 2011 lists.

Exhibitions

Selected solo exhibitions and performance

2020 ''Mindless Pleasures'' Bel Ami, Los Angeles 2018 ''V.I.T.R.I.O.L.'' Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles 2018 ''Torcat Tiqaucrat Mytics Ahtrae'' Acid Free, Blum and Poe, Los Angeles 2017 ''The Kouroi / The Society of Dilettanti'' J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles 2017 ''Mathesis and Mathematikoi'' Mt. Wilson Observatory, CA, Knowledges 2017, curated by Christina Ondrus 2016 ''(Mayakovsky) for Instrumental Transcommunication, Voice, and Autotune'' Rainbow in Spanish, Los Angeles 2015 ''Op. 21: Inner Experience Fellowship/Friends of Crime'' MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles 2015 ''Desert Center (Composition I10 Mvmt IV (Dusk))'' Palm Springs Art Museum, Desert Center, CA 2014 Various Small Fires, Los Angeles 2014 Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, Los Angeles 2014 Maccarone, New York 2013 ''LAAIR / The Traveller’s Companion Addenda'' Shanaynay, Paris 2013 ''“Scott Benzel” and What does Possession Mean to You?'' Human Resources, Los Angeles 2013 ''…plays selections from…'' Dem Passwords, Los Angeles 2013 ''W.W.A.R./ Die Dritte Generation'' Art Los Angeles Contemporary, Los Angeles 2012 ''The Academy / The Chthonic at Eleusis'' Public Fiction, Los Angeles 2012 ''(Threnody) A beginner’s guide to Mao Tse-Tung'' Made in LA 2012, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles 2012 ''Funhouse after the Penultimate Sequence of The Lady from Shanghai'' Ball of Artists, LAXART/Hammer 2012 ''Recombinant Folk History and Non-genre I'' Black Box, curated by Liz Glynn, Pacific Standard Time, Los Angeles 2011 Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Front Room 2011 ''Maldistribution'' Human Resources at Cottage Home, Los Angeles 2011 ''Concentric Circles (before and after David Smith)'' Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles 2010 sound. series concert at King’s Road Park, commission by SASSAS, Los Angeles

Selected group exhibitions

2019 ''Garland'' Treignac Projet, Treignac, France, curated by Sabrina Tarasoff 2018 ''#followme'' Desert Center, Los Angeles, organized by Michael Slenzke 2018 ''Home Bodies, Away Teams'' UMOCA Salt Lake City, UT, organized by Earl Gravy 2017 ''Imagining Tellus 28'' Harvestworks, New York, curated by Tom Leeser 2017 ''Ours is a City of Writers'' Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, selected by John Tain 2016 ''Nostalgia for the Present: Two Years of LACA'' Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, curated by Eli Diner 2014 ''Golden State'' Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, curated by Drew Heitzler, Tucson, AZ 2014 ''“And yes, I even remember you.”'' Aran Cravey, Los Angeles, curated by Eric Kim 2013 ''“Would you ever Write a Tract?”'' Autocenter, Berlin, curated by Marcel Dickhage and Daniel Horn 2013 ''The Stand In'' Public Fiction, Los Angeles, curated by Alexandra Gaty and Lauren Mackler 2013 ''In the Good Name of the Company'' For Your Art, Los Angeles, curated by Jan Tumlir, Brian Roettinger, Christopher Michlig 2012 ''An Homage to Mike Kelley'' presented by Gagosian Gallery, MOMA PS1, New York 2012 ''Venice Beach Biennial'' with Mark Hagen, curated by Ali Subotnick, Venice, CA 2012 ''Print Imprint'' Actual Size and Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles 2010 ''Endless Bummer/Surf Elsewhere'' Blum and Poe, Los Angeles, curated by Drew Heitzler

Selected collaborations

2014 ''Split Chorale for Viljo Revell'' with Kathryn Andrews, Nuit Blanche, Toronto, CN 2013 ''Part-Objects'' with Anita Pace, Perform Chinatown, Los Angeles 2012 ''A, D'' with Liz Glynn, also with Corey Fogel, Giles Miller, Public Fiction, Los Angeles 2012 ''Venice Beach Biennial'' with Mark Hagen, curated by Ali Subotnick, Venice, CA 2009 ''Judson Church Horse Dances'' Co-composer, Producer, with Mike Kelley, Performa 09, New York 2009 ''Destroy All Monsters at ”A Fantastic World Superimposed on Reality”'' Gramercy Theatre, Performa 09, New York 2009 ''A Voyage of Growth and Discovery'' Original Score Co-composer with Mike Kelley, Sculpture Center, New York 2006 ''Profondeurs Vertes'' Original Score Co-Composer with Mike Kelley, Musee Louvre, Paris 2005 ''Day is Done'' Original Score Co-Composer with Mike Kelley, Gagosian, New York 2004 ''Destroy All Monsters at ”All Tomorrow’s Parties”'' curated by Jake and Dinos Chapman, Camber Sands, UK 2004 ''Into the Sun'' Live Performance w/ Sam Durant and Tom Recchion, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles 2001 ''Democracy’s Body'' Original Score Composer for Andrea Bowers exhibition, Art Basel Statements, Basel, Switzerland

Musical work

Benzel's performances often incorporate live musicians performing his original compositions. Since 2017, he has been employing limited AI, Machine Learning, and generative algorithmic platforms as part of the composition process. Live performances of compositions include ''Torcat Tiqaucrat Mytics Ahtrae'' Blum and Poe, Los Angeles, 2018, ''Mathesis and Mathematikoi, for string quartet, anvil, dancers, and telescope operator'', at the Mt. Wilson Observatory, Knowledges 2017,''The Kouroi/The Society of Dilettani, for string trio, experimental punk trio, voice, and live stream'', at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2017, ''Op. 21: Inner Experience Fellowship/Friends of Crime'', at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles, 2015, ''Desert Center (Composition I10 Mvmt IV (Dusk))'', at the

Palm Springs Art Museum The Palm Springs Art Museum (formerly the Palm Springs Desert Museum) was founded in 1938, and is a regional art, natural science and performing arts institution for Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, in Riverside County, California, United St ...

, Palm Springs, CA, and Desert Center, CA, 2015, and ''Split Chorale for Viljo Revell for 300 voices'', at

, Nuit Blanche, Toronto, ON, 2014 Musical projects have included

Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features eleven monster ...

, the band led by American artist Mike Kelley, and

Machines of Loving Grace Machines of Loving Grace was an American industrial rock band from Tucson, Arizona, best known for their song "Butterfly Wings". History Formation Named after the Richard Brautigan poem "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace", Machines ...

. In 2009, Benzel released ''Blak Bloc'', a composition for string quartet and guitar feedback and synthesizer, chosen by Artforum magazine as a Best of 2009: Music. In addition to production and remix work with

The Red Krayola The Red Krayola (originally Red Crayola) is an American avant rock band from Houston, Texas formed in 1966 by the trio of singer/guitarist Mayo Thompson, drummer Frederick Barthelme, and bassist Steve Cunningham. The group were part of the 1960 ...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spenc ...

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

Boss Hog Boss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer (guitar) and Cristina Martinez (vocals) along with Jens Jurgensen (bass), Hollis Queens (drums) and Mickey Finn (keyboard). The band achieved some notorie ...

, and various others, Benzel has produced albums for

Fat Possum Records Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Sprin ...

and

Plug Research Plug Research is an independent record label, based in Los Angeles, California, US. Created by Allen Avanessian in 1994, the label specialized in IDM, folktronica and experimental music. The label began with young artists that have made its rep ...

in Los Angeles.

Curatorial

In 2019 Benzel organized ''Hoard Inaugural'' at Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, featuring works by Anonymous, Autonomous Oral History Group, Kelman Duran, Arshia Haq, Nick Kochornswasdi, Halldora Miyoko Magnusdottir, Olivia Mole, Misael Oquendo, Rapterotica/Cephalerotica Index, Hande Sever, Alan Tofighi, and Adam Wand. According to the press release, ''Hoard Inaugural’s works function on a vector divorced from the model of the standardized, refined index or ‘complete’ artwork. They are works and collections that tarry with the hoard and sometimes succumb. The works suggest the possibility of endless conjugation and the impossibility of final categorization, they contain evidence of digging, of obsession, and in some cases unresolvable moral quandaries.'' In 2015, Benzel organized ''Sonatine Bureaucratique'' at Los Angeles Contemporary Archive. According to the press release, ''The show features found and archived material from seemingly disparate spheres presented in conjunction to illuminate how the works of certain conceptual artists ultimately prefigured contemporary systems that have become thoroughly aligned with an administration of social control. Including original catalogs and artist’s books by

Guy De Cointet Guy de Cointet (1934–1983) was a French-born artist based in California who created text and sculptural works, often combining them as props and stage sets in theatrical performance pieces. Biography Guy de Cointet was born in Paris in 1934, the ...

, Charles Gaines,

Douglas Huebler Douglas Huebler (October 27, 1924 – July 12, 1997) was an American conceptual artist. Life and career Douglas Huebler grew up in rural Michigan during the Depression and served in the Marines in World War II. After the war, funded by the ...

, and

Seth Siegelaub Seth Siegelaub (1941, Bronx, New York – June 15, 2013, Basel, Switzerland) was an American-born art dealer, curator, author, and researcher. He is best known for his innovative promotion of conceptual art in New York in the 1960s and '70s, ...

.'' In 2012 Benzel curated (in conjunction with SASSAS) ''Welcome Inn Time Machine'', part of the Pacific Standard Time Performance Festival and, in 2013, ''Tape Music: .sound at the Schindler House''. Both shows presented historical and contemporary experimental musical works in unusual settings. In 2011 Benzel organized ''Sublimated Los Angeles'': a film series highlighting little-seen films with strong ties to Los Angeles and suppressed for a variety of reasons, including:

Play it as it Lays ''Play It as It Lays'' is a 1970 novel by the American writer Joan Didion. ''Time'' magazine included the novel in its " 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005". About the book, Joan Didion said, "I didn’t think it was going to mak ...

(1972),

Let there be light "Let there be light" is an English translation of the Hebrew (''yehi 'or'') found in Genesis 1:3 of the Torah, the first part of the Hebrew Bible. In Old Testament translations of the phrase, translations include the Greek phrase (''genēth ...

(1946),

Dial M for Murder ''Dial M for Murder'' is a 1954 American crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was ...

in 3D (1954),

Pumping Iron ''Pumping Iron'' is a 1977 American docudrama about the world of professional bodybuilding, with a focus on the 1975 IFBB Mr. Universe and 1975 Mr. Olympia competitions. Directed by George Butler and Robert Fiore and edited by Geof Bartz and Lar ...

(1977) at

Fellows of Contemporary Art Fellows may refer to Fellow, in plural form. Fellows or Fellowes may also refer to: Places * Fellows, California, USA * Fellows, Wisconsin, ghost town, USA Other uses * Fellows Auctioneers, established in 1876. *Fellowes, Inc., manufacturer of wo ...

, Los Angeles. In 2011, Benzel curated ''Seven Los Angeles Artists'' featuring artists

Kathryn Andrews Kathryn is a feminine given name and comes from the Greek meaning for 'pure'. It is a variant of Katherine. It may refer to: In television and film: * Kathryn Beaumont (born 1938), English voice actress and school teacher best known for her Disn ...

, Anonymous, Anonymous, Erin Cosgrove, Mark Hagen, Mike Kelley, and

Rodney McMillian Rodney McMillian (born 1969, in Columbia, South Carolina) is an artist based in Los Angeles. McMillian is a Professor of Sculpture at the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles. McMillian holds a BA in ...

, at Fellows of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles from Oct.15-Dec.17

Teaching

Benzel is a member of the faculty of the School of Art at

, Valencia, CA. He previously taught at the

University of California Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, Riverside, CA, and

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

, Long Beach, CA. Benzel has lectured and taught seminars at Escuela Incierta,

Cali, Colombia Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the secon ...

, 2018, Claremont College, Claremont, CA, 2014, and

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, Los Angeles, CA, 2012