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OPEN Arcadia University Art Gallery
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However, by the time this is translated by curators all over town, it becomes a fairly mixed bag. It helps when one employs the very jolly map that ties in the loose ends somewhat and gives a feel that the show is more than simply a city-wide marketing ploy. It also helps if you ignore the 'unintentional' irony of calling a show “The Big Nothing” in the first place and the whole existentialist thing which seems somewhat dated. My first reaction to the title was negative; art already has a low enough profile (especially in Philadelphia) so why bring attention to the fact that it remains 'nothing' for most people, summer notwithstanding. Alas, my beef doesn't hold water, especially in view of some of the initiative's surprising results; mainly, extending the season and giving it some lacking cohesion. Arcadia's part in all this is a cut above and puts a literal cast on the rather vague cosmic connotation as read into the title. OPEN is different. Here is a show which is not only promotes the 'invisible' but each piece adds a clever variation on the theme. This gives an overall consistency. At first viewing, one believes that the art is merely playfully small, minimal, or hidden (because it is conceptual); all for the purpose of illustrating the idea: nothing. Which is, of course, to miss the point. Concepts are not nothing. So we have a cultural argument: if there is nothing to consume (to see) there must not be anything there. But there is more going on here than hide and seek. The Arcadia show has such breadth and diversity as to nearly redefine the whole“Big Nothing”context or at least tighten the specifications. By avoiding the more general, metaphysical approach, and dealing with the nuts and bolts of each piece, the show becomes a larger statement about the nature of art and its connection to and dependence upon the physicalities around it, i.e. the gallery and our perception of it. So much is made of the space itself that this will undoubtedly be an education to anyone still seeking art hung on a nail and also those who know better. Walls are left unbuilt and others are built leaving invisible cavities behind them. These walls and spaces then house other works. Such care has been taken to work this groove that the viewer must become more intimate with the gallery as a result. Although we find every conceptual trick in the book, in the end it is not so much ado about nothing, but a demonstration and confluence of ideas. And the general idea comes across well, illustrated by the inclusion of cutting edge art process over the decades. These 58 works by 52 artists become a constellation of sorts, above and below, defying the human eye and ear, the building itself and incorporating time, radio waves and cosmic motion. Dave Allen stretches the point aurally, so dogs can hear his audio piece but not us. Jonathan Monk transmits the gallery noise outward via a microphone onto an AM radio wavelength. Other works make a similar point; tattoos on the gallery assistants by Lawrence Weiner, a curse is made on the exhibition (contact staff for the antidote) by Jeremiah Misfeldt and Yane Calovski's idea to extend the show for a 24 hour period. More standard minimal pieces like Yoko Ono's erased line and the faint grid by Sol Lewitt aren't as interesting on their own but here serve as mentors, links between the 60s and now. Spot on is George Brecht's Three Telephone Events from 1961 adding further interaction from the staff who must answer every third ring! Who'd have thought there was such a continuum of work relating to 'nothing' in this way. Anti-commodity certainly comes up a lot within this shared sensibility as does the phrase “non-event.”Two dissimilar works by home team artists Kevin Reay and Randall Sellers bring idiosyncratic elements that more than hint at content. Mini-futures drawn by Sellers defy scale and invariably show up the fine pebble of the wall board, while Reay's Situationist-inspired British phrase "fuck all" is done in appropriate graffiti style with spray glue. Both are direct, less metaphorically mushy and, or course, hard to see. Although dead serious on one hand, the show is full of conceptual whimsy, and much fun can be had distinguishing the art from the gallery fixtures. I mistook the real smoke alarms for the smoke alarm art piece, Detector, by Phil Grauer and thought some pipes outside were also part of the show. Easily done; there is a fake duct inside. Paul McCarthy's piece from 1969 is like a prank from mischief night, innocuous in another way. Some works can be missed because they only appear at certain times of day or when the sun is out. A glow-in-the-dark wall piece high up in a corner was only visible at the opening when the lights were put out. So the show has a dependence not just in relation to so-called nothingness or negation, but to sleight of hand and chance. Incorporating the mundane and the cosmic all at once is a unique quality and the point about perception of art in the context of a 'room' is made again and again. Thanks to the co-curators, Richard Torchia and Sandra Firmin, who became physically involved in installation. The show uses the wide mixture of casual and oblique pieces well and makes brilliant use of the main player, the gallery itself. OPEN is an intricate and thought provoking show; not only user friendly but completely on message. ©
2004 James Rosenthal and InLiquid.com;
image copyright © Rebecca
Holland and Arcadia University Art Gallery |
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