THE ART of MEMORY the Loss of History
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THE ART OF MEMORY The Loss of History THE NEW MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, NEW YORK THE ART OF MEMORY / THE Loss OF HISTORY BRUCE BARBER JUDITH BARRY TROY BRAUNTUCl-I SARAH CHARLESWORTH LOUISE LAWLER TINA LHOTSKY ADRIAN PIPER STEPHEN PRINA RICHARD PRINCE MARTHA RosLER RENE SANTOS HIROSHI SUGIMOTO CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS REESE WILLIAMS ''RE-VIEWING HISTORY : VIDEO-DOCUMENTS'' PETER ADAIR NANCY BUCHANAN DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY TELEV ISION DAN GRAHAM V ANALYN GREEN ULYSSES JENKINS MINERS CAMPAIGN TAPE PROJECT PAPER TIGER TELEVISION DAN REEVES DAVID SHULMAN EL TALLER DE VIDEO "TIMOTEO VELASQUEZ" WITH ESSAYS BY DAVID DEITCHER WILLIAM OLANDER ABIGAIL SoLOMON-GODEAU THE NEW MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, NEW YORK THE ART OF MEMORY /THE LOSS OF HISTORY •Contents November 23, 1985-January 19, 1986 Foreword by Marcia Ti1cker 5 Acknowledgments Library of Congress Catalogue by William Olander Card Number: 85- 72522 Copyright© 1985 The New Museum of Contemporary Art Fragments Copyright © 1985 Reese Williams by William Olander 7 Copyright © 1985 Tina Lhotsky All Rights Reserved Conditions of Sensuous Perception ISBN 0-915557-52-5 by Reese Williams 13 This exhibition is supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal Drawing from Memory agency, Institute of Museum Services, a federal by David Deitcher 15 agency, the New York State Council on the Arts, Mobil Foundation, Inc., ART QUEST, The New Museum's Report from the Moon Collectors' Forum, and by public funds from the New by Tina Llzotsky 22 York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Bmce Barber 24 Judith Bany 26 Troy Bra1111tuc!1 28 Sarah Charlesworth 30 Louise Lawler 32 Adrian Piper 34 Stephen Prina 36 Richard Prince 38 Martha Rosier 40 Rene Santos 42 Hiroshi Sugimoto 44 Christopher Williams 46 Cover: Plaster casts (Hermes from Andros by Praxiteles and Photography at the Dock Roman copy of the Doryphoros by Polykleitos) photographed by Abigail Solomon-Godeau 48 at the Queens Museum while being restored with funds from the Chase Manhattan Bank. On permanent loan from the Metro- Point of View politan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: Louise Lawler, 1984. by William Olander 53 Frontispiece: Christopher Williams. On New York (detail), Works in the Exhibition 57 1985. Cibachrome print, II ford Cibachrome II Paper CRC .44 M, 10 x 14" (image), 17 Y2 x 21 Yz" (framed). The Image Bank Bibliography 57 4 •Foreword To have a clear perception of My thanks to curator Wil- Arts, the Institute of Museum what has been called post- liam Olander, who organized Services, the New York State modern culture, it is important the exhibition, to David Council on the Arts, Mobil to understand the concepts of Deitcher and Abigail Solomon- Foundation, Inc., and the New both history and memory. This Godeau, whose contributions York City Department of Cul- exhibition attempts to initiate to the catalogue are invaluable, tural Affairs, for their con- a critical discussion of these and to the members of the tinued support. terms, to show that they are staff, volunteers, and interns, Above all, we are grateful not necessarily intertwined or who helped bring the exhibi- to the artists in the exhibition synonymous, but rather how tion to fruition. for sharing their work and they interact. History, with its Each year, Art Quest, The vision with us . illusion of neutrality, has more New Museum's collectors' for- to do with ideology than with um, sponsors an exhibition, Marcia Tucker actual events while memory and it is as a direct result of Direclor can recoup history by critically their generosity that this exhi- examining how, by whom, and bition has been made possible. for what purpose history is We are also grateful to the being inscribed. National Endowment for the • Acknowledgments The art and critical theory on Solomon-Godeau offered im- Wallis; Marcia Landsman, who display in this exhibition have portant advice at an early initiated and coordinated this been developing simultaneous- stage; Martha Gever was in- catalogue, and Jean Foos, who ly, within a much larger textual strumental in shaping the video designed it; Pam Freund and field than one program can portion of the exhibition; Jeanne Breitbart, without possibly suggest, since the late Robert Beck, Electronic Arts whose help Stephen Prina's 1960s. Though they emerged Intermix, Joanne Kelly, Video concert could not have taken full force only since the late Free America, and Neil Sies- place; Lisa Parr, who managed 1970s, it did not seem too soon ling, University Community all of the exhibition details; to mount an exhibition which, Video, provided access to and John Jacobs, who installed while undeniably contempo- tapes; and Judith Barry, Troy it with patience and under- rary, implicitly possesses, be- Brauntuch, Nancy Buchanan, standing. cause of its subject, a "retro- Sherrie Levine, Stephen Prina, Finally, I want to thank the spective" character. To every- and Richard Prince all made Foundation for Art Resources, one participating, I am deeply valuable suggestions that have Los Angeles, for its support of grateful for your continuing helped make this project pos- the rehearsal and preparation commitment to a broad range sible. To the lenders, whose of the score for Stephen Prina's of ideas and issues, and for names appear elsewhere in this performance; Symphony your enthusiasm, generosity, catalogue, I am very grateful Space, New York, for the con- and cooperation with regard to for the loan of seldom seen tribution of their concert hall; this particular project. works, and to Mary Boone, my and the National Endowment I would like to single out thanks for facilitating the loan for the Arts for its continuing the following individuals: of Troy Brauntuch 's pieces. Of support of not only this exhi- David Deitcher, a contributor course, I have appreciated the bition but of contemporary art to this catalogue, a long-time support and assistance of my and issues in general. friend and colleague, has been colleagues at The New Muse- there since the beginning; Ro- um, including Marcia Tucker, William Olander salyn Deutsche and Abigail Lynn Gumpert, and Brian Cura/or 5 Adrian Piper. Aspects of the Liberal Dilemma (detail), 1978. Black-and-white photograph, 20 x 24'~ 6 FRAGMENTS • WILLIAM OLANDER In 1978 Adrian Piper first pre- deed, the limits are so firmly the spectacle of late capitalism. sented a work entitledAspects defined, that if one expresses Memories circulate and history of the Liberal Dilemma. doubt or simply refuses to unrolls, but seldom does any- Adopting in part the form of name names in favor of some- thing emerge as a discrete an acoustiguide (the prere- thing more thoughtful, more event. Rather, as Judith Barry corded tours of museum exhi- complex, then one runs the risk calls her newest work, we are bitions), the piece consisted of of being dismissed as nothing always confronted by yet an- a large black-and-white photo- more than an "ideological ab- other "Mirage," an "odd hy- graph, mounted under highly straction" or a "spectacle" brid, ... Now you see it, now reflective glass, and an audio- rife with hypocrisy.' Doubt is you don't. And can you trust tape. The photo depicts a not expressed easily by those what your eyes are seeing. group of black South Africans, who are attached to certainty. Would you even know it if you descending a staircase, while In place of certainty, I want could." the tape contains a monologue, to propose both memory and spoken by Piper, which is ad- history, for today each informs If the resurgence of memory dressed to the viewer: the other with an ease of sub- figures prominently in post- You want to have an aesthetic stitution that is distinctly not modern practice, then its ab- experience: to be fulfilled, ele- modern, neither separate nor sence may be seen in retrospect vated, edified, irritated. You unified, but equal. Memory. It as a principle characteristic of would like lo have your crite- is unstable, fragile, and proble- modernism, at least since the ria of good art confirmed, or matized. At present, it is not a late nineteenth century and the disrupted, or violated by the art you see here. You look for- matter of whether or not one is full deployment of aestheticist ward to being challenged by capable of remembering, but experience, i.e., since the com- this art to see things around of what is remembered and its plete separation of art from so- you in an aesthetically height- relation to what is remem- ciety and its transformation ened way. In short, you want bered, or to its "reality." into an autonomous, organic something new and exciting lo History. It is no longer con- unity which possesses no mem- think about, and not to be stituted by the facts but by just ory.' Though the historical bored or antagonized. so many memories, informed avant-garde (primarily dada These comments introduce a not by events but by their rep- and surrealism) attempted to series of questions, which be- resentations. It is as elusive as disrupt this homogeneous gins with "How do the images anything else in today's whole by injecting a mem- in this picture relate to each society; it possesses even less ory-the fragment lifted from other?" passing through "Are materiality than a memory both the unconscious and the these the right questions to ask might, for history today is social reality of daily life-into about this work?" and ends seldom more than just another its practice, the absence of with, electronic transmission, an memory has figured more sig- Why are you increasingly im- over-produced broadcast of nificantly in other, more avant- patient with all of these ques- imminently forgettable events garde developments of the tions? And with the lack of manufactured for our plea- twentieth century.