October 12-December 8, 2007
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 11th,
5-7:30pm

MAIN SPACE:
On Being an Exhibition

Artists:
BGL, Conrad Bakker, Beth Campbell, Germaine Koh, Valerie Hegarty, Isola and Norzi, Chadwick Rantanen, Derek Sullivan,
Anne Walsh/Chris Kubick, Lee Walton, Laurel Woodcock

Curated by Joseph del Pesco

On Being an Exhibition borrows Michael Asher’s “Situational Aesthetics” as a point of departure toward the development of an exhibition that leverages this pre-conditioning of the viewer, the physical language of the gallery, and the packaging and promotion of its contents. By implicating these infra-structural aspects of the institution, On Being An Exhibition intends to interrupt the situation of the gallery experience and recontextu- On Being An Exhibition intends to interrupt the situation of the gallery experience and recontextu- On Being An Exhibition alize the production of an exhibition.

Asher acknowledges certain elements of the gallery as known quantities (lighting track, white walls, a front desk, a gallery attendant, etc.) despite their background/neutral status. Through complicating the physicality, location, or function of these preexisting objects in the gallery, the value of these elements can change, making us aware of their capacity to hold meaning. Thus, context-contingent meaning arises out of a complex set of relationships between the gallery, its history, and the expectations of the viewer/user.

CAMPARI PROJECT SPACE:

Judit Kurtág: Episode

Hungarian artist Judit Kurtág’s videos foster a consciousness of time in which the moving image is a keeper at the border between the immediate and memory. Her work presents an idiosyncratic harmony of sound and image, and an uncanny digital manipulation that reflects contemplation upon subjectivity.
“For me reality is what really happens, what we think is happening, and what happens in our memories . . . so these three layers are mixed, in a Cubist way.” Being introspective yet open to wider explorations, Kurtág’s works play within the limits of expression where the differences between artist, narrator and audience become blurred. Taking motion as the ultimate point of reference, Kurtág embraces a liminal perception of reality instead of a true depiction of the world.

Judit Kurtág’s videos have been shown in Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Reykjavik, among other locations. Episode, a new video work, will mark her first exhibition in
New York.

This project and the accompanying catalogue were made possible through generous support from CAMPARI

Architecture and Design Project Space:

Jackie Sumell / Herman Wallace
The House That Herman Built

The House that Herman Built involves a collaboration between
the artist and activist Jackie Sumell and the inmate and Black Panther Herman Wallace. Their conversation took focus when,
in 2002, Sumell asked Wallace the question: “What kind of
a house does a man who has lived in a six-foot-by-nine-foot
cell for over 30 years dream of?” Since then the project has
grown into a publication, including 5 years of conversation with
Wallace, an architectural fl y-through video narrated by Robert
King Wilkerson (also a member of the Angola 3, released in 2001),
and exhibitions in Germany and Ireland. More recent developments include an article in the New York Times by Chris Colin, the production of blue-prints for the house by architect Scott Gustofson,
and the beginning of a documentary film by Angad Bhalla.

For the exhibition at Artists Space, the first time the project as
a whole will be exhibited in the United States,Sumell will present
a timeline of their collaboration, a recreation of Herman’s cell,
the fl y-through video and other materials. A poster including
the blue-prints, and a conversation between exhibition curator Joseph del Pesco and Sumell will also be available.

WPS1 interview with Jackie Sumell and Joseph del Pesco