Morgan O’Hara

EdB Contemporary is honoured to present the work of artist Morgan O’Hara (b. Los Angeles 1941).

O’Hara was raised in an international community in post-war Japan. She earned a Master in Art from California State University, Los Angeles, and had her first solo exhibition at the Musée Cantonal des Beaux Arts in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1978.

O’Hara gained major recognition during the 1980s, representing the NYC art scene together with other daring artists such as John Cage, Phill Niblock, Russell Gordon, John Tilbury, Sally Silvers, and others; collaborating with leading sound, dance, and performance artists at that time, including Pina Bausch, Martha Graham, Cunningham Company, Trisha Brown, Merce Cunningham, Mark Morris, Bill Forsythe.

An artist of many media, O’Hara makes visible the time, space, and movement aspects of the experience. Throughout her career, O’Hara has been perfecting the method of live drawing which resulted in her most extensive research and visual series LIVE TRANSMISSION (1981 – ongoing), with over 4000 artworks created through the 50 years. LIVE TRANSMISSION renders visible normally invisible or fleeting movement patterns through seismograph-like drawing done in real time. Trajectories inherent in human activity are carefully observed and drawn simultaneously with both hands using multiple razor-sharp pencils. Time-space coordinates for each drawing are recorded with precision, contextualising each activity in a specific continuum and geographic place, thus building on the historical continuum of the field. O’Hara’s LIVE TRANSMISSION drawings were created in collaboration with pioneering and renowned artists, dancers, musicians, performers, and even politicians, including Marina Abramović, Willem Dafoe, Vito Acconci, Jonas Mekas, Cecil Taylor, and Anthony Braxton. However, the concept of live drawing originated in Morgan’s mind and hands as an empathetic and democratic practice. She has recorded numerous transmissions of everyday working people immersed in their crafts across Europe, the USA, and Japan.

When talking about he influences, O’Hara pays tribute to the writing and music of John Cage, whom she met as a student, sound and vibration became the pulse of Morgan’s visual and live work.
O’Hara also speaks about the Japanese calligraphy, which, ‘in particular, has had a strong influence on me since my early years in Japan. I grew up in Japan from age 7 through 14 during the period of reconstruction after the second world war, from 1948 – 1954. Completely open to discover the new country which surrounded me and aided by classes in traditional arts, I absorbed the aesthetic of pure form and concept contained in drawn line. The concept of being as completely as possible in the present moment and working / creating simultaneously using the energy and flow of the moment has been my method of working from the beginning of my LIVE TRANSMISSION work. The main principle of bokki, or transmitting one’s energy or life force into the work at hand is incorporated into my modus operandi’ (quote).

Transmitting the work of people around the world into live drawings is one of several ongoing initiatives in O’Hara’s practice, all with a focus on social impact. Another key initiative is Handwriting the Constitution, a social art project launched by the artist in 2017. This project invites people from all walks of life to gather in public spaces to handwrite documents that protect human rights and freedoms. The practice was created to help people understand their rights, deepen their knowledge of the laws designed to protect those rights, and resist negative thinking. The project aims to create both a physical and psychological space that explores the practice of concentrated writing as an art form. It is designed to bring people together in a calm, quiet way, with a focus on human rights. Handwriting the Constitution has been recognized as a powerful and transformative form of activism, particularly for introverts. To date, approximately 2,200 people have participated in this project, both nationally and internationally.