An awesome review by David Joselit of Carsten Höller’s show at the New Museum. Work whose premise I
have questioned since reading about it years
ago. Not only do I agree with Joselit's
view, I also find the whole thing so very dated.
I was a teenager in the 70’s in São Paulo, when/where I used
to attend the Bienais when they came to town (bienais: Portuguese plural for
Biannual). Biannuals still carry an air
of the carnivalesque, but these days the funhouse atmosphere is infused with
all kinds of sociological baggage, if not always apparent in the actual art
work, then in its explanation, contextualization, and coverage. As a teenager, I did not pay attention to the
“coverage”; and maybe my memory has embellished things with time, but those old
bienais were a lot of fun. They were all about sensation and perception. The exhibits felt like wondrous funhouses,
especially for a teenager just starting to experiment with life and art.
I do like Joselit's "whole picture" approach to
interpreting his experience at the New Museum, even if the work is not at all
about that. Again, to me Höller’s work
just feels, well, dated, tired, rehashed, distanced, cold, out of place and
time. If one were to happen upon it
haphazardly while walking down a street (certainly an impossibility in our
litigious world), maybe then, the encounter might actually become an experience
that somehow puts something about perception in perspective… though partaking
in psychedelics might get you there faster and without having to sign a legal
waiver …
disclaimer: I am advocating neither.
Read the review soon before the link disappears at the end
of the month.
No comments:
Post a Comment