uncertain americans

Tomorrow I fly to New York for the U.S. opening of the Uncertain States of America show; a big art show of ’emerging American artists’ put together by important European art curators Daniel Birnbaum, Gunnar B. Kvaran, and Hans Ulrich Obrist. The show originally opened last fall at the Oslo Museum of Modern Art, and then traveled to the Pompidou in Paris. Now it will be in New York at Bard College before it moves to Iceland and then on to London. The show is pretty cool, made up mostly of visual work and including big name art starts like Jim Drain, Paul Chan, Hannah Greely, Christian Holstad, The TM Sisters, my old pal Miranda July and many others (I think there are 40 of us all together).
It’s always a little weird when I get lumped into these “art world” shows. My films play on a projector in a small darkened corner of the museum, looping over and over for the duration of the exhibition. I have mixed feelings about it- I am super excited and honored to be included in the program, but I don’t really like having people just walk in and out while my films are showing. My work definitely has a beginning, middle, and end, and they are very much about rhythm and pace. It is kind of heart breaking to watch people peek their heads in a look at my movies for a moment or two and then move on. It’s also a little awkward because the art world is all about art product- aka selling stuff. From dealers to collectors to gallery reps, the art world is fueled by the art market. I don’t necessarily have a problem with that, but film and video has a hard time fitting in. Painters and sculptors obviously have an ‘object’ that they can show in a gallery, put a price tag on, and sell for a profit. And there are some video artists who are doing quite well selling limited edition DVDs of their work. But I have always found that a little weird. I guess what it really comes down to is that I am populist; I want my films to be seen by as many people as possible. I have had some pretty funny interactions with people in the art world who have inquired about the availability of my work. They’re always a little shocked when I tell them that they can buy my DVD on the internet for 20 bucks, or even rent it from NetFlix if they don’t feel like shelling out any money at all. (*But to qualify things, I am actually working on a video installation project that probably will be available only as a limited edition, but that is do more to the presentation aspects of the installation itself (three monitors plus companion materials) than the notion that I think I could raise the value of it by limiting the supply. Check back in the near future about the installation project, but if you have been reading my blog I bet you can guess what the subject it).
But anyhow, I am pretty excited about the Uncertain States of America show, mostly because it has introduced me to some pretty amazing artists who otherwise I probably would have never had the chance to meet. Plus, we had a pretty awesome time at the opening in Oslo last October. Everyone was jet-lagged and disorientated, and we wondered around the town like a pack of flunkey tourists trying to find Viking boats and folk art museums. Hopefully the New York show will be equally as fun, minus the jet lag. I’ll send updates soon!
Here we are, the Uncertain Americans, at some fancy dinner party in Oslo back in October of ’05.

And here we are having fun with the reflections in the window of the museum.