stuff: international contemporary art from the collection of burt aaron @ mocad
Goodness, the first thing I realized in writing all the artists, titles and dates (yup, thanks to all those who like informative subtitles - now you can research the artists you like!) is that a huge percentage of the works in STUFF have been purchased by Aaron in only the last 2-5 years and are mostly artists that I am not familiar with! To me this is amazing becasue of the volume of the works in the show - there are 167 works exhibited - but it also means that there is a lot of inside dealing knowledge that occurs to invest in so many works by artists who are on the cusp of their careers. I give loads of credit to a passionate emerging art collector, but still my thoughts on having a main MOCAD board members' collection as the museum's third show makes me raise a brow....as much I just want to enjoy and be "thankful" for the show. (Just a quick sidenote for those not up on the mocad saga - it is a split crowd here in detroit that: A. feel we should be happy to just have a new contemporary museum, and B. feel mocad staffers have somewhat questionable judgement when it comes to shows and dealings.)
Upon entering the show, looking into the left room I was excited to view the works but looking into the right room I felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of pieces hung in clusters and salon style. I enjoy a high placed painting here and there but I found it hard to concentrate on the many framed works in the interior wall sections. I believe in the direction and passion of Aaron's collection, but seemed to call out for stricter curation by Corbin and Aaron.
Here's a great review by Vince Carducci...honest - read it all!
rebecca morris, untitled '05
nathan hylden, untitled '06
paul feeley, alphrik '64
mike smith, untitled '06
thomas houseago, sunset '04
aaron curry, the object: function invitation and interaction '05
terry adkins, mvet lunar diptych, '89
stewart goldman, bilateral red '01
tim & K.O.S. Rollins, For The People of Bathgate '99
stephen prina, mailing list '90
alistair mackinven, love is homesickness '06
jennifer bolande, untitled tower '99
sean landers, #1 dad '99
jakub julian ziolkowski, untitled 06
mel ziegler, house mulch '95 and untitled #3 '99 (above/below)
william j. obrien, black madonna '06
william j. obrien, the patience box '05
william j. obrien, untitled '06
burt barr, rain piece '98 (above/below)
wade guyton, untitled (group #3) '04
sterling ruby, untitled '03
nathan hylden, NHO506 '06
al taylor, wire instrument (model or 3 times as big) '89-90
Hanna Marie Blanke, Palace Sun '04
anna sew hoy, hoy nugget '00
santiago cucullu, am I out '03
michael krebber
meredith danluck, the punk wanderer '99
chris lipomi, untitled (basel painting) '06
john miller, come home this world '99
guyton/walker, untitled (from empire striks back series) '06
annette kelm, car art '07
Henning Bohl, Shogun '03
(the painting up high) kadar brock, speak to me in a language I can hear '06
rashawn griffin, untitled (asimilee) '05
elizabeth neel, endangered species '05
sophie von hellerman, sailing boat '05
kelly walker, schema aquafresh et al. mya '04
florian morlat, untitled '06
Kay Harwood , Untitled (Woman With Spotted Scarf '04
jutta koether, untitled '06
richard allen morris, selby '68
patterson beckwith, untitled (female subject with banana) '06
erin wurm, series indoor sculpture cc graz untitled (man and red carpet) '01
jacqueline humphries, untitled '06
michael tyzack, kite '68
posted by art blogs are fun at 7:48 PM
22 Comments:
Ann:
The first piece you have listed as Jutta Koether (the bed sheet, poster and oval canvas) is in fact by Michael Krebber.
Thanks for the coverage.
-Nolan
You beat me to it Nolan.
There is much written about the beginnings of both the Whitney and the Guggenheim – how they clumsily slid into the art world and art society of NYC. Just about everything that is being said about MoCAD was said about them. I’m very happy to be able to go to an amazing Guggenheim and Whitney on trips to NYC and am already happy to go to MoCAD and watch its history told.
Very happy to be in the "A" group and look forward to more from MOCAD. Anything that gets kicked around this much will just get stronger.
John Corbin and his installation collaborators did a great job with the work. The Mocad space has yet again been transformed – beautifully. And if you haven't seen the new bookstore (on wheels) - you've got to visit. Steven Mankouche - assistant professor of Architecture at U of M and his team did a most excellent job.
Both Vincent Carducci and Rebecca Mazzei in their MT articles - embarrass themselves.
Per Senior Editor of Parkett, Cay Sophie Rabinowitz - Lynn Crawford will have an article on MoCAD and Detroit - focusing on the art scene - published in their next issue - #80. Great art magazine – congratulations, Lynn.
The difference between MOCAD and the Whiney/Guggenheim is that the later removed themselves at an early point from this path of questionable ethics and blatant nepotism (one could say that they had the good grace to at least demure their nepotism, yes?). MOCAD needs to do that ASAP, or it will become one more abandoned Detroit experiment... with bad graffiti on the exterior.
I think that the MT article was spot-on about the institution as well as the shortcomings of this show. "In response, MOCAD's acting director Marsha Miro maintains AAM finds no correlation between a museum exhibiting a work of art and its subsequent economic value. But several seasoned curators speaking on condition of anonymity don't believe that claim. Miro also argues that, according to AAM, the fact that MOCAD isn't a collecting institution means there's no conflict of interest in showing a trustee's personal collection. Maybe MOCAD doesn't stand to gain any art from Aaron, but they've no doubt got one happy trustee on their hands." I think it's interested how this paraphrase leaves us with the impression of Miro slicing hairs to defend their position. Does anyone respect technicalities, and legalese wordsmithing anymore?
(group b) - Sounds like you have not even begun to crack the surface on the history of the birth of both the Whitney and the Guggenheim – It’s quite a lot of fun and surely, if you had - you'd know how much nastier for them than the Mocad birth. I could give you the sources - but then I'm just a knowledgeable and hopeful (group a) supporter – not inclined to do your work for you.
How many of you nay sayers who speek of nepotism have actually seen Aaron's collection prior to this exhibit. I rest my case. They installed a show that educates and exposes the Detroit community to one of its most important collectors.
Stop being so pessimistic!
If you ask me, they should have had a show involving several Detroit collectors. With three major rooms, they could have installed the works belonging to Aaron in one room, the print collection of Mark Schwartz in another room, and possibly Gil Silverman's Fluxus collection in the third. Build some temporary walls to minimize these vast spaces so that they better suit the scale of the exhibited works without going salon, and you've got a much better (more educational and pertinent) show.
Oh, and whitout the temporary walls, nothing short of large scale installation should be shown at MOCAD.
The space is not appropriate for 16"x20" flat work!
Burt's collection has been seen in bits and pieces around the world. We are fortunate to be able to see it all together; one weird, engaging organism. John Corbin, who lived and worked in New York for 20 years, looking at art, making art, and installing it for various galleries and dealers knows as much about contemporary art as anyone and it is a pleasure to see his hand in hanging teh show. For anyone confused or overwhelmed by the sheer number of works, I suggest this: go in, walk around, soak up the energy. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
The show looks hot
Hey, have you been? Fresh, sweet, bracing.
One of the coolest things about the CAD is that you don't have to pay for parking and you can literally park 39 steps from the door.
Nice coverage and documentation Ann
the 39 steps was a hitchcock horror film
is this a deliberate analogy?
It wasn't a horror film and the good guy won.
The categories for the 39 Steps are: Action/Adventure, Foreign Films, Suspense, Criterion Collection, Dramas, Comedies, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Recommended, Classic, Essential Cinema, Vintage, British and Spy - NOT HORROR.
None of which describes the CAD.
Yes...several describe MOCAD - Action/Adventure, Suspense, Drama, Thriller, Recommended.
cool
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