12/11/12 Conceptualism at Brooklyn Museum and Other Shows - NYTimes.com

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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

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AversionofthisarticleappearedinprintonSeptember9,2012,onpageAR66oftheNewYorkeditionwiththeheadline:Here’sLookingAtYou,Conceptualism.

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BrooklynMuseum

NewMuseumofContemporaryArt

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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