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If the dialectic between art and history has speeded up since
September 11, and it certainly has for most other aspects of culture,
then our need for clarification in art will hopefully follow suit.
I don't mean exhibitions about 9/11 but a serious re-evaluation
of how and why art is produced in this new era abruptly thrust
upon us. What greater need does it fulfill and how is it funded?
The tightening up of non-profit monies in the economic downturn
has already been felt and this will a cause a re-focus of direction
as yet unseen. Think back to the crash of 1989. In that case,
the economy quickly recovered, but the booming art market was
gutted and that freewheeling post modern party was ended forever.
Unfortunately, it was replaced by something far more cautious
and mercenary.
The tone of the current shows at ICA are
oblivious to this global upheaval, as much art of the 90s seemed
to be. This makes both for interest and a lack of import. The
op art of grande dame Edna Andrade is certainly a blast from the
hedonist past. Not surprisingly, out of step with the general
current today, the show needed a more upbeat installation to give
it some zing. A day-glo orange couch would have helped connect
it to some bachelor pad retro syndrome and allow one to sit and
absorb the exacting buzz of color, a not unpleasant activity.
Close up viewing is imperative and these pictures would have worked
better in a domestic setting with me sporting a martini. If there
was an attempt to link this work with the new abstraction of today,
it failed. There was not a lot for the mind to do while standing
there, which made me think that the notion of purely visual is
nonviable.
Upstairs the scene is much different. All the
selections for Intricacy by
Architect/theorist Greg Lynn illustrated his proposition very
well technically but the result is not comprehensive. Even with
the inclusion of such notable artists as David Reed, Roxy Paine,
and Tom Friedman, the making of connections between art and architecture
is a little strained, as if this exhibition was the illustrative
counterpart to an unwritten essay on the subject. For all the
hyperbole on software and computer fueled revolutions, arguments
for these transformations remain theoretical and unproven. Lynn's
piece for the 2001 Venice Biennale of Architecture is a good example
of the ethos. Produced by cutting a huge blob out of foam with
computer technology is pretty neat, but the result resembles something
from an old science fiction film set. The inclusion of a Bjork
(as cyborg) music video underscores this science fiction theme
and indicates a superficial rather than thorough investigation.
Was there a purposeful pun on Bjork /Bork?
On the surface the works illustrate the main
idea -- both artists and architects can be fussy and techie, yes
-- but why the concern with multi-faceted blobs? I am hoping Roxy
Paine was using irony because he can't be altogether serious.
Labeling an assortment of plaster-like splatters may relate to
the theme but the piece came off as something made by someone
with too much time on their hands.
Software has been a boon to the draftsman and
the production line surely, but this overriding notion about computers
transforming time and space is weak. It is old news and has been
utilized by science and industry for decades, not to mention available
for viewing in any cinema multi-plex for years. Oddly enough,
in theory, this process of intricacy has far greater reach
than the claims evidenced here, but it is not necessarily computer
bound. J. G. Ballard refers to "Inner Space," as opposed
to the dominant outer reality and societal fixation on the physical
object, i.e. consumption.
Tom Friedman's work embodies all these notions
of Intricacy but without the high tech/software part. This
is always refreshing. Cosmic structures are sought using the ubiquitous
packing material and bane of modern mankind, the styrofoam peanut.
(Oh my gosh, I've just realized it's a small blob, isn't it!)
These are painstakingly glued into a cube shape. So it melds the
curvilinear building block into a straight edged object. Alas,
in this room it didn't work. It was too slight. What about including
Robert Lazzarini's amazing stretch phone booth piece from the
recent Whitney Biennial?
The six-screen video installation in the foyer,
Without Warning (Flying Vaginas are Trying to Eat Me),
is a monster in itself with the tangled cables coiled at your
feet. Though not a part of Intricacy,
Adam Ames updates the prevailing science fiction notion far more
concisely while commenting on the SF/horror film genre in the
process. Time forces us to inadvertently integrate these forms.
We have little choice. This is why car manufacturers have brought
back grills and nasty looking sports cars. The wall interpretation
for the piece label said it well, mentioning as antecedents Alien
and Resident Evil / Body
Snatcher type movies. This brings to mind to the post-modern
standby, male anxiety with its Freudian source: technology and
the Female. The label might have continued quoting from much more
film theory texts on machine worlds, androids and time loops with
specific references to Terminator,
Robocop, and
Blade Runner. Not surprisingly, Terminator
2 (1991) embodies all these ideas and includes as hero
a muscle building female lead as a twist. This pre-dated Buffy
the Vampire Slayer! Ten years later we are beseiged with tough
kung fu-ing female leads. That is how things develop.
Though these concepts may already be absorbed
by the public at large (and as easily forgotten), there is relevance
in re-stating them through art and re-jigging the punchline in
order to make new statements. Adam Ames exemplifies these ideas
successfully, unlike much of the work in Intricacy,
which dwells more on the process of utilizing high tech tools.
In short, Greg Lynn takes it a little too seriously.
Intricacy puts forth the popular
proposition that complex mathematical and architectural principles
and digital production are all there is. The implication that
cultural dynamics move in a singular direction is assuming too
much.
-James
Rosenthal, March 2003
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