Peter Luining on Thu, 6 Dec 2001 18:00:02 +0100 (CET) |
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[Nettime-bold] "MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES" |
"MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES" AN ONSITE / ONLINE GROUP EXHIBITION OF ARTIST MULTIPLES & EDITIONS DECEMBER 6 - JANUARY 5, 2002 HTTP://WWW.HAINESGALLERY.COM Multiple Personalities marks Haines Galleryıs first group exhibition comprised solely of artist multiples and editions. This show includes work by Marina Abramovic, Polly Apfelbaum, Joseph Beuys, George Brecht, Rob Craigie, Michael Daines, Mark Dion, Douglas Gordon, Valery Grancher, Ann Hamilton, Damien Hirst, Mario Hergueta, Barbara Kruger, Peter Luining, Michael Mandiberg, MTAA, David Nash, Dennis Oppenheim, Alan Rath, Karin Sander, Jonathan Seliger, John F. Simon, Jr., Lorna Simpson, Kiki Smith, Fred Tomaselli, Mary Tsiongas, and Andy Warhol. The exhibition will exist both physically and virtually, comprised of work by traditional and experimental artists and thus emphasizing the extent of this art formıs context as a product, a concept and a methodology. Multiple Personalities comments on the history of the multiple and addresses the reasons behind this art form's development over time. Simply, a multiple can be defined as an art object that is produced in a quantity of more than one copy. However multiples are more than a technique used to produce art, they are also "the embodiment of a theoretical standpoint in relation to the entire artistic discipline."(1) The multiple functions as a vehicle for the transmission of ideas and as it is repeated referencing a unique work, it becomes a "denial of appearances and expectations."(2) >From the 60ıs to present day, commercial culture thrives on duplication just as modern communication depends on repetition as seen in news media, corporate ad campaigns, and political rhetoric, repetition is a technique used to reiterate a messageıs importance and to give it validity, clarity and strength. In the late 1950s multiples became popular with artists who wished to make their work available to the many people who could not afford a unique painting or sculpture. Multiples took on several forms including handmade objects, ready-mades, printed materials, film, video, audiotapes, and books. Beginning in the 1960s, artists published multiples or object-editions by themselves, Piero Manzoni created a work entitled "Merda dıArtista", which was comprised of 100 cans of his own excrement. "The conceptual relevance of the fact that more than one copy exist is independent from the actual size of the edition. Manzoniıs piece gives an unforgettable twist to the notion of artistic production, it is irrelevant whether this is repeated 9 or 9,000 times."(3) In New York, George Maciunas began the production and distribution of Fluxus multiples, which were based on the premise that art should belong to everyone by the means of mechanical reproduction. For Fluxus artists, multiples were not only economical and easy to distribute, but they were the best art form to present the ongoing developments of the artistsı ideas. Joseph Beuys in particular wanted to "break down the traditional gallery system of art exhibition" and wanted to use the concept of the multiple to "spread his ideas beyond the confines of institutions and into the rest of society".(4) Beuysıs Intuition Box is one of his most recognizable and most fundamental Fluxus multiples as these make shift boxes were hand-constructed, signed and distributed on the streets of Dusseldorf. It is actually unknown how many boxes were purchased, although 8,000 had been made by 1974.(5) "It is exactly the vastness of its distribution that gives this multiple its particular significance as the most successful attempt to exploit the format potential to transform a single idea into an endless network."(6) Even though the latter half of the decade multiples became associated with the democratization of art, Pop artists utilized mass-produced objects as a commentary on consumerism. Pop art not only sought to elevate the vernacular object to the status of fine art, but multiples like Andy Warholıs Campbellıs Soup Can on a Shopping Bag, "epitomized the consumer society of the 1960ıs".(7) This edition of shopping bags printed with the quintessential Pop image satirized the appetite of mass consumerism and the "utopian allegiance to modernity, with its implication of an endless series of identically constructed and identically furnished houses inhabited by a uniformly wealthy and uniformly tasteful bourgeoisie."(8) As America became a world power, driven by postwar prosperity, consumer desires and material possessions there was born a new popular culture and a new art world. The Pop Art multiple was defined as an "editioned original, usually made using mass-production techniques," which was "instantly recognizable and widely available". "It was their hope to break down the barriers between art and life by making their new art accessible to a wider public."(9) However bold and insightful this art form was and still remains, the multiple has always been denounced as a lesser form of art. "The second class status of the multiple in art has historically been attributed to" concerns related to "artistic invention, quality, commercial affiliation, and the accessibility of a formal language."(10) However today, technology has introduced a new element to the discussion. The concept of the multiple has been duped by electronic media as it offers an "updated and analogous fascination and tension around issues of authorship, originality and function".(11) All of these issues have lead to "confrontations with a definition of value in contemporary art."(12) There exists both links and divergences "between the tangible multiple and digitally produced work" and the attitudes surrounding the reconfiguration of value.(13) We can agree that the tangible object has obvious value, however "how is art culture navigating the shift in importance/influence away from the unique fixed object towards the seductive and seemingly inclusive landscape of information?"(14) Throughout history, the multiple has been seen as a vehicle for information and way to de-emphasize the obsession and privileges of the art "object". Utilizing the mass-distribution and communication of the Internet, innovative printing equipment and model building software, net artists have continued the philosophy of the art multiple to the highest degree. Essentially, everything that is created on the net is a multiple. Technology has given artists the means to truly dematerialize art. Digital mediums exist without the confines or restrictions experienced by other mediums. Perpetual multiplicity is inherent in this new medium and thus makes the idea of a limited edition obsolete. Net multiples such as Michael Mandibergıs AfterSherrieLevine.com allows users to download and print out a Walker Evans photograph along with a certificate of authenticity for each image that you print out and sign yourself. Mandibergıs conceptual net art piece takes a jab at art history and in the process "creates a physical object with cultural value but little or no economic value." He utilizes the accessibility of the web and the duplicity of the medium to appropriate and usurp the convention of the printed edition. Other net art projects such as Every Icon by John F. Simon Jr. and 6.210.041.3450 by Peter Luining produce nothing physical or tangible but simply remain digital. The name of the buyer is displayed somewhere within the program and thereby giving the edition its authenticity and value. Every Icon is a personal applet that increments through the set of possible outcomes on a 32 x 32 pixel grid of each pixel being either black or white beginning with the date of purchase and ending 5 billion years later when all possible outcomes have been attempted. Every time the user starts her copy of Every Icon, the software computes the icon to display based on how much time has elapsed since the date of purchase. This unlimited edition acts as an hourglass as well as reductive painting working independently of any artist or engineer. Peter Luiningıs 6.210.041.3450 exists as a shockwave engine which produces digital color fields. The value is credited once the owner purchases the piece, their name is placed on the first screen and the "nag" screen is removed. Then the user is allowed to enjoy uninter- rupted streams of minimal art right on his computer screen. The Body of Michael Daines allows the viewer to purchase for $50.00 a signed print of the torso and lower body of a 16-year old boy. The print of Dainesı body was auctioned on EBAY with a description indicating the body was in "overall good condition with minor imperfections". As Daines suggests with his multiple "everybody gets a piece" and follows the same thought as Joseph Beuys in the late 60s as he believed that people who owned his multiples were "staying in touch with him" and thus were able to extend the life of his own concepts.(15) Examining the trajectory of the multiple leaves little doubt that the definition of this art form has changed with time. "The multiple was informed by a spirit of accessibility, invention and explorationmaking art for ordinary people" and continues to shape the ideas of artists and influence art culture.(16) Perhaps with the concepts fostered in the 60s united with the technological potential of mediums today, art will be the catalyst to change the way we value and consume all things. (1) Daniel Buchholz & Gregorio Magnani, "International Index of Multiples: From Duchamp to the Present" 1992, p 7. (2) Id. p 8. (3) Id. p 7. (4) Aidan Campbell, "Joseph Beuys Multiples", Exhibition at the Barbican, referenced on www.culturewars.org.uk (5) Buchholz, p 7. (6) Id. p 7. (7) "Pop Impressions Europe/USA: Prints and Multiples from The Museum of Modern Art", press release referenced on www.moma.org. 1999. (8) Buchholz, p 10. (9) Id. (10) Laurel Beckman, "Something For Nothing: The New Multiple In Contemporary Art", referenced on www.ubu.com. (11) Id. (12) Id. (13) Id. (14) Id. (15) Emily Rekow, Walker Art Center Department of Education and Community Programs (16) Buchholz, p 11. _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list Nettime-bold@nettime.org http://amsterdam.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold