Paul Berger is a staff writer at The Forward. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The (London) Times, The Daily and Guardian.co.uk.

Jan
12

Artspeak

By

A fantastic-looking video installation by Doug Aitken will be projected onto the outer walls of MoMA for the next month. But why do galleries insist on describing installations and exhibitions in such a convoluted way? From MoMA’s website:

…Continuous sequences of film scenes will be projected onto eight facades, including those on West Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth streets and those overlooking The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden. Inspired by the densely built environment of New York’s midtown, the artist will create a cinematic art experience that directly integrates with the architectural fabric of the city while simultaneously enhancing and challenging viewers’ perceptions of public space.

What? (Opens Tuesday.)

5 Comments

1

Coz it’s probably rubbish.

2

Ha ha, reminds me of the ridiculous artist’s statements I had to read through when I worked in art galleries in the city. Total rubbish. I’ll never forget one artist’s statement that said that his work was inspired by “the confluance of Casper”. What the hell? My boyfriend, who was the director of the gallery that showed this artist, used to pull out that particular line whenever we needed a good laugh. I guess it’s a bit too inclusive if one simply writes “I like to play with paint” or “I like to make fun of stupid politicians” or “I like bright modern colors”. I think the statement above could use a rewrite.

4

Josh, that is not an artist’s statement. That is a work of genius and merits its own post (and a special screening on the South Bank).

5

As usual Paul, you are simply too kind.

Leave a Comment

pdberger on twitter

custom writing