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Contents 6 71 Chronology The Gift that Keeps on Giving Sarah Krajewski 7 77 Power in the Gift Shop Matthew Offenbacher On Generosity Elizabeth Brown 26 87 I know I know Jenny and Joe Image Captions and Credits 34 90 The Gift Shop Presents: Presents Colophon 40 The Atlas of Gifted Ideas 46 Moonlight Requisition 54 Work Song 62 Champagne Truffles 70 Surveys 5 Power in the Gift Shop fantastic than Galbraith’s. He details the Matthew Offenbacher practicalities of fetish, fantasy, and role play in consensual SM exchanges, interspersed with The collaborative groups of The Gift Shop short fiction. Townsend is concerned with the took very different approaches to making their fulfillment of the desire to exert or be subject exhibitions. Yet they all positioned themselves to power. “In our very complex society,” he in relation to authority in interesting ways. writes, “it is not always possible for a man to Why this particular interest in power? I work himself into the professional or social have two books here I hope will suggest some situations where his dominant-submissive answers. One is an elegant cloth-covered needs are fulfilled.” Erotic play with power hardback with nice thick paper. The front can be a way to fulfill these needs: “everything board has the monogram J K G discreetly within an SM exchange is done with the intent embossed in gold italic. The other is a ragged of producing physical or emotional pleasure.” yellowing paperback. On its cover is a drawing CHRO- of a muscular man in a black leather vest and Personality I pants, showing off his swollen pecs and erect nipples. The first exhibition in the Gift Shop was Jenny The hardback is economist John Zwick and Joe Park’s I know I know Jenny and Kenneth Galbraith’s The Anatomy of Power. Joe. Their installation was magically, cheaply Galbraith begins his dissection of power romantic. In a darkened room, beneath a by quoting Max Weber, who says power is night-light moon, a looping video of Jenny and May “the possibility of imposing one’s will on the Joe standing side-by-side was projected onto Meetings with Liz, Sara, Betsey, Paul behavior of other persons.” Power is what two life-size cardboard cutouts. They stood Cabarga and other museum staff. makes things happen, Galbraith explains, but in a long metal canoe propped crookedly on Liz articulates the following as the sawhorses; a fan, a strand of tinsel, and a blue- guidelines for what can happen in the its sources and the instruments through which April 2009 Gift Shop: “no immediate danger of August it is exerted are often obscure. What separates filtered florescent tube suggested water below. Matthew Offenbacher e-mails death, no open flames.” The Henry operations staff empties those who exercise power from those who are Wearing similar outfits (glasses, dark blue NOLOElizabeth Brown, Sara Krajewski out the books, posters,- folding subject to it? Galbraith identifies three sources jeans, black vests, white shirts) they sang the and Betsey Brock a proposal for June chairs, and other various things that from which all power arises: the power of old love song You Belong to Me, accompanying turning the Henry Art Gallery’s vacant Matt writes a planning document had been stashed in the shop. Matt personality, property, and organization. These themselves on guitar and melodica: “I know museum shop into “a laboratory for which includes a method for choosing installs a “coming soon” window I know / you belong / to somebody new / but ideas” for Seattle artists, where “a artists: “This method begins with a display with patterned fabric, will serve as guideposts in the discussion pool of Northwest artists (enriched small group of artists and expands cardboard mobiles, fur, illustrations below. tonight / you belong to me.” with visitors from elsewhere) outwards, balancing random and non- from Karl Rohnke’s Silver Bullets, a The paperback is Larry Townsend’s Artists are often asked to perform, to would be combined in a series of random networks, in an attempt to classic book on trust games and team classic guide to SM sex, The Leatherman’s sing for their supper, to be a “colorful” presence unexpected groupings...developing build an interesting and diverse group building, bread dough sculptures, Handbook II. Townsend’s approach to power at parties, receptions, and dinners. This short, fast, no-budget experimental of people who have not necessarily enlarged book covers, fake flowers, is simultaneously more pragmatic and more relationship to an audience, or to patrons, is exhibitions together.” worked closely together before.” colored clip lights. GY 7 very much like a romantic one; it rewards skill of conditioned power that creates desire. What in seduction, persuasion, and reassurance. is the relationship between artists, artwork Although it is common to think of these and an audience? I know I know played on the performances as separate from the creation desire to acquire art and artist both. of artwork—as “career” stuff, as opposed to “work”—Jenny and Joe’s exhibition suggests Personality II these might not be extricable. What binds together “career” and “work” is personality. The Gift Shop’s largest group (Gretchen Artists, like art objects, are valued by the Bennett, Leo Saul Berk, Ben Chickadel, Tyler force of their charisma, beauty, charm, and Cufley, Eric Fredericksen, and Joe Plummer) conviction. The romantic view of art depends created a loud and complex exhibition they on the idea that artists invest their work with called Work Song. “I understood it to be a the unique power of their personality. symposium on improvisation with a guest Galbraith identifies personality as the lecture by a bad-ass drummer,” was Leo’s first of three sources from which all power succinct summary. In Plato’s Symposium, originates. Anciently, and still in many seven drunken Athenians spend an evening situations, the power of personality meant debating the topic of love. Socrates declares “the ability to inflict punishment of a physical “Love is the son of Resource and Poverty.” nature on the recalcitrant or nonconformist.” By this he means love is unbalanced and September 23 This is the kind of power Jenny and Joe deceptive, because it never obtains what it Trashy splashy painting session. Jen- display in a second video, which showed them desires. However, love is also balanced and ny Heishman, Jenny Zwick, Joe Park, holding a variety of threatening poses while truthful, because desire is what motivates the and Matt make seven or eight paint- spinning slowly on turntables. They look like search for wisdom. ings together in a couple of hours video game characters, or merchandise on the The “bad-ass” Leo mentions is Joe on the Henry loading dock. Gretchen Home Shopping Network. However, this was Plummer, drummer for Modest Mouse and Bennett phones-in a description for a painting; Jason Hirata emails the a spoof; the power of personality in art rarely other well-known indie rock bands. Work September 15 following suggestion: “If anyone who takes the form of a physical threat directed Song turned the Gift Shop into something The Gift Shop is announced in the is able to make it would like to, could towards an audience. like a recording studio built around Joe’s Henry Fall newsletter: “Artist Mat- you do some of the following? On the Art is more closely associated with drum set. The group spent a day making and thew Offenbacher approached the back of one of the canvases in dark what Galbraith calls “conditioned power.” inhabiting the installation. There were colorful September Henry with a very basic question and paint write the word ‘JUNGLE’ in large Conditioned power is a method of winning sound-baffling panels, balancing sculptures Artist organizational meetings. statement ‘What is going on in the vertically elongated letters. Paint the bookstore? I have an idea for that upper right hand corner of another of submission by changing belief, by “persuasion, improvised from glass and wood shelves, clip September 2 space!’ What will happen over the the canvases red. Get a passerby to education, or the social commitment to what lights, Plexiglas cubes, sheet music, florescent Jennifer Mao joins the project as next few months is yet to be seen. paint a large diagonal line on one of seems natural, proper, or right.” When people bulbs, a Karaoke machine, corrugated documentation intern. She starts a Join us in the Museum Gift Shop to the canvases, then get another one speak of the power of art they most often fiberglass, and many other things. At one web site archive the following day: swim uncharted waters with Matthew to paint a line going in the opposite mean conditioned power. Seduction is a kind point, a sort of Socratic call and response http://gift-shop.tumblr.com/. and other local artists.” direction, forming an X.” 9 lesson took place between Joe at his set and artists, curators, and collectors. Are artists Eric at a practice pad. Everyone took pictures, fans or rock stars? filmed video, and recorded sound. Later in the week, an elaborate round-robin editing Property I process resulting in two looping videos and a soundtrack. Galbraith’s second source of power is property. The drumming in the Gift Shop was This is the power vested in any tangible audible throughout the museum, disrupting thing in which value accrues, along with the usual serenity of the galleries. This abstractions of tangible things such as money. move—undermining authority within a The possession of money, Galbraith writes, framework of authority—is often found when “gives access to the most commonplace exercise overt expressions of opposition are difficult, of power, which is the bending of the will of dangerous, or impolitic.

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