BLOOM & SAGMEISTER & WALSH @THEJEWISHMUSEUM, NY

Opening at The Jewish Museum in New York on March 15th are two exhibitions by contemporary artists. The first, with images shown here, (below and above) is by Barbara Bloom. Titled “As it were...So to speak: A Museum Collection in Dialogue with Barbara Bloom” the exhibition finds the artist interacting in various ways, both in a narrative and physical context, with art objects and paintings from the museum’s permanent collection.  Her agenda was to revisit works and allow for the public to view them through a new and contemporary lens. In doing so, the artist did historical research arriving at narratives and facts regarding particular events and iconography. In other cases she made fictional plots around the objects, including one example where she places Nefertiti, Jesus, Emile Zola and Amy Winehouse at the same table.  Each figure is represented by a small object and in a brief, few words presents a certain attribute through a simple written dialogue, she reveals the fantastical, abstract persona. They each seem to be playing a different game, or have varying perceptions of the game at hand along with disassociation but are sitting at the same table.

From the gallery text: Though it may sound like some “A Jew, a Muslim and a Christian walk into a bar” joke….Nefertiti, Emile Zola, Amy Winehouse and Jesus are sitting around a game table. Multiple exposures, many temporalities are superimposed on each other, and collapsed into a single game. 

This particular work is a good metaphor for how Bloom seems to approach much of what is currently on view in the exhibition. She delves into a series of moments that hide and reveal particular details in many historic works documenting Jewish history and culture. While accessing a total of 276 pieces the exhibit somehow still feels minimal, even reserved. Much happens in the text that accompanies each work.   In the second gallery she presents a smooth, white sculpture that upon a second glance doubles as a chair and ottoman combo, yet is divided by a sheet of glass rendering the object non-functional. In between the chair and the ottoman on the glass is what at first appears to be a map, accompanied by text.  There is a simple drawing of a mountain along with the text “Freud’s Iceberg Model”. Towards the top of the diagram are the words Thoughts and Knowledge, while towards the bottom are Shameful or Traumatic Experiences along with Irrational Wishes. Carved out on the ‘seat’ of the ottoman in a cylindrical shape that resembles a cup holder, containing the Roman signet ring from the Freud Collection of Antiquities (First-second century, Gold and carnelian). It’s as if one could place his or her hand into the space and wear the ring, however this is not the case due to the glass and the size of the hole. The ring itself is part of the permanent collection and was a symbolic gesture that bound a group of individuals in a ‘Secret Committee’ that consisted of Freud along with six other of his psychoanalyst colleagues.  They were the first to delve into the theory and practice of psychoanalysis, yet disbanded due to Freud’s own incessant interest in theories surrounding sexuality and his not wanting to veer off topic. What Bloom does with these works and the others present, is force the viewer to lose his or her assumptions, allowing for the option to reconsider truth, function and intention.

In the adjacent gallery to “As it were...So to speak: A Museum Collection in Dialogue with Barbara Bloom”, is “6 Things: Sagmeister & Walsh“. The design team is based in New York although Stefan Sagmeister is originally from Bregenz, Austria while Jessica Walsh is from New York. Balancing a career between fine art and the commercial advertising industry, Sagmeister & Walsh have done commercials for companies such as Levi’s and HBO and designed album covers for OK Go, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, and others. Five videos and one sculpture (6 Things), composed of raised letters filled with a shallow pool of water and hidden speakers that vibrate the water based on sound, all have been culled by themes taken from Sagmeister’s diary, focusing on personal happiness.  The titles are as follows: If I Don’t Ask I Won’t Get, Keeping A Diary Supports Personal Development, Be More Flexible, It’s Pretty Much Impossible to Please Everyone, Now is Better, and Feel Others Feel.  With letters placed directly on the floor, the latter installation titled “Feel Others Feel” is, as is each piece in the show, accompanied by a hand written wall text, white on a black surface. Here it states:

The duo have also placed text along the lower section of wall in the gallery. It appears to be gold inlay, but is in fact contemporary text outlining facts from a 2010-11 survey where Jews were reported to have the highest levels of well-being amongst all religious groups. The font of the text blends in perfectly with the aesthetic of the room and placed along the molding close to the floor, can easily be over-looked.

Both exhibitions tap into a way in which we look at and experience things both metaphorically and actually. Barbara Bloom has re-imagined a selection from The Jewish Museum’s permanent collection giving each work a new life so to speak. While Sagmeister & Walsh use digital video, audio landscape and text to allude to an emotional state that is personal and interior. Using differing modes the artists explore very human qualities and through what could be considered a collective experience, have made work that is singular and will be quite personal for each visitor who goes to see it. While the semiotics of language and the act of reading play an important role, text is used differently throughout both exhibitions.  Although integral, it’s either an invaluable accompaniment or woven, such as with Sagmeister & Walsh, as a visual representation folding and looping inside of itself broadcasting literate, positive messages.  Now is Better and yes, I agree.

“As it were...So tohttp://www.thejewishmuseum.org speak: A Museum Collection in Dialogue with Barbara Bloom” and 6 Things: Sagmeister & Walsh will both be on view until August 4th, 2013 at The Jewish Museum located at 1109 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10128.

More soon!

xo