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12/11/12 Conceptualism at Brooklyn Museum and Other Shows - NYTimes.com
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THENEWSEASON
Here’sLookingatYou,Conceptualism
ToddHeisler/TheNewYorkTimes
AforthcomingforayintoConceptualism:aninfluentialbookonthemovementattheBrooklynMuseum.MorePhotos»
ByHOLLANDCOTTERPublished:September6,2012
CONTEMPORARYartisoccupyinghallowedhallsthisseason:Andy
WarholattheMet,MatthewBarneyattheMorganLibrary.
AndConceptualism,which40years
agoproposedtrashingmuseums
altogether,isnowassumingold
masterstatusinthem.It’sevengetting
ahistoricalsurveyin“Materializing
‘SixYears’:LucyR.Lippardandthe
EmergenceofConceptualArt,”ashow
thatopensattheBrooklynMuseum
onFridayandprovidesthebackstory
forasurprisingnumberofother
shows,mostlyofnewart,cominginthemonthsahead.
NotthattheBrooklynexhibitionhasblockbusterpotential;
ifanything,theoppositeistrue.It’sacompendiumof
archivaloddsandends:postcards,snapshots,arcane
pronouncements.Andit’sbasedona40yearold
scrapbookofabookwithaninterminableartspeaktitle,of
which“SixYears:TheDematerializationoftheArtObject
from1966to1972:ACrossReferenceBookofInformation
onSomeEstheticBoundaries”isjustthefirstquarter.
CompiledbyMs.Lippard,apioneeringfeministwriterand
ABreakthroughAgainstLeukemiaUsingAlteredTCells
RobotsandRobberBarons
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12/11/12 Conceptualism at Brooklyn Museum and Other Shows - NYTimes.com
2/4www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/arts/design/conceptualism-at-brooklyn-museum-and-other-shows.html…
AsortablecalendarofnoteworthyculturaleventsintheNewYorkregion,selectedbyTimescritics.
GotoEventListings»
EnlargeThisImage
InstituteofContemporaryArts,London,2005
AMarthaRoslergaragesale,toberecreatedattheMuseumofModernArt.MorePhotos»
EnlargeThisImage
LinTianmiao
AselfportraitofLinTianmiao,atAsiaSociety.MorePhotos»
EnlargeThisImage
AndrewKrepsGallery
GoshkaMacuga’s“NatureoftheBeast”(2009),adetailofColinL.Powell.MorePhotos»
curator,andpublishedin1973,thebookremainsa
foundingdocumentofahugelyinfluentialkindofartthat
emergedfromaneraofsocialupheavalandthatspurred
farreachingchangesinthinkingaboutwhatartcouldbe
—meaning,amongotherthings,unheroic,nonWestern,
female,ephemeral.
InitsfeistyearlyphaseConceptualismwantedtotoss
paintingandsculptureoutthewindow.Butrealitysoonset
in:Objectswereclearlyheretostay,andthenewartbegan
todefineitselflessasantithingsmoreasdistinctlypro
ideas,favoringthosethatbroughtartandlifeintosync.
Oneworkthatexemplifiedthatuniononarather
spectacularscalewasMarthaRosler’s“MetaMonumental
GarageSale,”whichmadeitsdebutin1973andwillbe
recreatedatMuseumofModernArtthisfall.Thepiece
incorporatesrarefiedartformscloselyassociatedwith
Conceptualism,likeperformanceandinstallation.Atthe
sametimeit’sexactlythefunkythingitstitlesaysitis.
Lastspringthemuseuminvitedanyoneinterestedin
downsizingtodonaterecyclablestothemuseum.The
responsewasstrong,andfortwoweeksthisfall(Nov.17to
30)theaccumulatedstuffwillbehauledintoMoMA’s
atriumforacashandcarrysale,theproceedsgoingto
charity.Asashopperyou’llgettohaggleoverpriceswith
theartiststhemselves.Andasyoupickthroughpilesofthe
beautiful,theusefulandtherare(aswellasjunk,no
doubt)andputyourmoneydown,youmayperceivethat
you’redoingexactlywhatmuseumsdo,withasomewhat
differentclassofretail,allthetime.Doesthatmakeyour
“GarageSale”purchaseart?Well,that’scertainlyanidea.
GaragesalesareallAmerican,butConceptualismwasn’t.
IthadEuropeanpredecessorsinmovementslikethe
SituationistInternationalandinartistslikeJosephBeuys
(192186).Beuyswasanobjectmaker,butheconceivedof
makingartasafundamentallysocialandintellectual
processinwhicheveryonewasqualifiedtoparticipate.
Artistswhostudiedwithhimstillcarryhisiconoclastic
influence.
Oneofthemostinterestingofthem,RosemarieTrockel,willhavearetrospectiveopening
attheNewMuseumonOct.24.Hervividdrawings,hermachineknittedpaintingandher
performancegeneratedweavings—theperformersarespiders—unitenaturalscience,
philosophy,politicaltheory,theologyandarthistoryinwaysthatBeuyswouldhaveloved.
Lastyearintheshow“Ostalgia”theNewMuseumexaminedversionsofConceptualism
thatflourishedinRussianandformerSovietbloccountriesbeforeandafter1989.This
seasonoffersafurtherlookatsuchdevelopmentsinasoloshowbythePolishborn,
LondonbasedartistGoshkaMacugaattheMuseumofContemporaryArtinChicago,
openingDec.15.
Ms.Macugaisacollagistofobjectsandideasonagrandscale.A2005installationtitled
“OpportunismandtheCollapseoftheSecondInternationalbyV.I.Lenin1916/Cabaret
VoltaireZurich1916”broughttogethersculpture,Marxismandmultilayeredperformance.
Hermorerecent“WhenWasModernism?”evokedthegardensatRabindranathTagore’s
artschoolinruralBengal,whereacenturyagoartistsfromIndia,EuropeandSoutheast
Asiashareddreamsofaglobalutopia.
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12/11/12 Conceptualism at Brooklyn Museum and Other Shows - NYTimes.com
3/4www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/arts/design/conceptualism-at-brooklyn-museum-and-other-shows.html…
AversionofthisarticleappearedinprintonSeptember9,2012,onpageAR66oftheNewYorkeditionwiththeheadline:Here’sLookingAtYou,Conceptualism.
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Ms.Lippard’sviewofConceptualismasglobal—anotherpartofhertitlewas“Occurring
NowintheAmericas,Europe,England,AustraliaandAsia(WithOccasionalPolitical
Overtones)”—wasthemostprescientaspectofherbook.Alreadyintheearly1970s,
ZarinaHashmi,thenlivinginPakistan,hadbegunmakingdrawingsandprintsthat
lookedabstractbutwerebasedonthefloorplansofhousesshehadlivedinasachild.Her
work,whichisimbuedwiththespiritualconceptsofSufism,willbeonviewatthe
GuggenheimstartingJan.18in“Zarina:PaperLikeSkin,”ashowthatwillunofficially
functionasacurtainraiserformuseum’snewglobalartinitiativeembracingSouthand
SoutheastAsia,LatinAmerica,NorthAfricaandtheMiddleEast.
TheIranianartistShirinNeshat,whocametotheUnitedStatesasanartstudentinthe
1970sbeforehercountry’srevolution,haskepttheideaofadualculturalidentityatthe
centerofherphotographsandoftenmesmerizingfilms.AswithMs.Hashmi,thoughina
differentway,Islamhasbeenafocusofherrecentwork,aswillsurelybeapparentina
retrospectiveopeningattheDetroitInstituteofArtsinApril.
Meanwhilethebroadspectrumofcontemporaryartbeingproducedbywomeninorfrom
theMiddleEastisbeingaddressedinapanoramicseriesofexhibitionsgatheredunderthe
title“TheFertileCrescent:Gender,ArtandSociety.”OrganizedbytheInstituteforWomen
andArtatRutgersUniversityinNewBrunswick,N.J.,andappearingatseverallocations
thereandatPrincetonUniversity(fourofthesevenshowsarealreadyopen),it’sthekind
ofprojectthatonlyauniversityartgallerycould,orwould,conceiveofandbringoff.
ContemporaryartinChinais,ofcourse,ahugedealinternationally,yetveryfewofits
starsarewomen;LinTianmiao,whohasajustopenedretrospectiveatAsiaSociety,isone
ofthem.Bornin1961,sheispartofagenerationthatabsorbedWesterntrendsfromPop
toConceptualArtanddidtheirownthingwiththem.
Inthe1980sMs.Lin’swasbindinghouseholdobjects—woks,pots,bowls—indense,
suffocatinglayersoftiedthread.Morerecentlyshehasproducedphotographicself
portraitsinwhichherBuddhalikefaceispartlyobscuredbyembroidery.Thisisartabout
womeninculturebutbasedonideasandattitudesthatdon’tnecessaryjibewithWestern
feminism.
ThecontinentthatMs.Lippardleftoutofherbookin1973wasAfrica,whichhasnow
longsincetakenitsplaceintheinternationalConceptualpicture,asitdoesinthisseason’s
lineup.Ofseveralshows,themostvariedandunusualis“TheProgressofLove,”which
spreadsoverthreefarflunglocations:theMenilCollectioninHouston(openingDec.2),
thePulitzerFoundationfortheArtsinSt.Louis(Nov.16)andtheCenterfor
ContemporaryArtinLagos,Nigeria(Oct.13).
Withacomplexuniversalemotionforitstheme;anetworkofcontemporaryartistsfrom
acrosstheworld(Benin,Mali,London,NewYork);andarangeofmediathat
encompassespaintingandtextmessaging,theshowhas,toriffonMs.Lippard’stitle,few
aestheticboundariesandmorethanoccasionalpoliticalovertones.Itisacasebookstudy
incosmopolitanism,thegreat,vivifyingideaof21stcenturyartthusfar.
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