The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis would like to wish you and yours a very safe and happy New Year!

Peter Fischli and David Weiss / Gilian Rappaport

Fischli & Weiss is the prominent artist duo comprised of Peter Fischli and David Weiss. Based in Zurich, the pair has remained some of today’s most prominent Swiss contemporary artists since their initial collaboration in 1979. Through a wide range of media extending from sculpture to film, Fischli & Weiss play off of each other’s outstanding wit and intelligence to generate ironically innovative works that transform aspects of everyday banality into the spectacular. New artistic contexts provide a fresh look at the familiar, propelling viewers retrospectively into a very welcome spirit of youthful exploration.

Aside from their 1983 film, The Right Way, exhibited in For the blind man…,  Fischli & Weiss have created an immense amount of work over their almost thirty years of artistic partnership. Their earliest productions parody the gravity of high art, as seen in their 1979 Wustserie, a string of lighthearted photographs of sausages comparative to the refined subjects of genre painting. Alternatively, the later film, The Way Things Go, produced in 1987, is arguably the pair’s best known work. A line of over seventy feet of various domestic objects, ranging from buckets to balloons, clash in a bizarre chain reaction fueled by a variety of often explosive, natural collisions. Select the link below to watch some of this epic film tracing the paradox of chance and precision, as well as cause and effect, in its most real form.

“Amazing Chain Reaction – The Way Things Go”

To read the gallery guide, click here.

The Contemporary, along with the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, will present Playing in the Dark: A Collision of Art and Chess, an event kicking off the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship which takes place October 3 -13 at the Chess Club. The event is inspired by the current exhibition at the Contemporary, For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn’t there, which explores the speculative nature of knowledge and insists on the importance of curiosity and the things we don’t understand…this event will celebrate chess, the game that has puzzled players for centuries.

The collision will take place from 2:00 – 6:00 pm on Saturday, October 3. Guests will witness blind chess playing, as Anna Zatonskih, the defending U.S. Women’s champion and Olympic Gold Medalist plays five opponents blindfolded and hulachess, hosted by Jennifer Shahade, Grand Master and tournament chair. Visitors can also participate in the day by signing up to play the women’s masters. 

As we think about this collision of art and chess, questions have been raised: Who would leave art for chess (as Michael Duchamp shockingly did in 1923)? Are there similarities between chess and art? Is one better than the other? Can they even be compared?

There are twenty artists represented in the exhibition For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn’t there. Gilian, the Contemporary’s curatorial intern, is going to give you a little insight on each of these artists in a series of blog posts. This is a great way to become connected with the exhibition and learn about each of the artists involved. Feel free to leave your thoughts!

For the blind man’s… Blurred Reflection of the Self
    Gilian Rappaport

It’s pretty amazing that as a curatorial intern for the Contemporary, I contributed to the placement of Rosemary Trockel’s Dessert 2 for the newly debuted exhibition, For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn’t there. Admittedly, I did not understand the weight of this decision at first. However, with each successive gaze into this piece I am blown further away by its ability to penetrate the real-world environment of the viewer through its eye-level positioning.

Upon wandering through the exhibition on Opening Night, I encounter Dessert 2 and disregard the deliberate installation process as I lose myself for a moment in the flat, semi-reflective central surface of the piece, akin to a wall mirror. As I search for myself amid the familiar glazed circle, the return of a blurred distortion seems to mock this common and universal gesture, propelling me into a deeply self-reflective dialogue. In essence, I feel the paradox of sensing a foreign stranger’s eyes upon me though I know that I am only staring at myself.

It’s at this moment when I realize that Rosemary Trockel’s inherent genius with this piece lies at least partially within her homage to Duchamp’s Readymades. In utilizing a commercial object as domestically universal as the wall mirror, Trockel has opened the door to a moment where I can feel both my self-perception and how I am perceived by others collide in a momentous clash of eternally unanswerable inquisitions.

After a fleeting sense of frustration, my eyes move on to the blob of shiny ceramic material exploding outward from the center of the work. What first appeared as awkward and bulbous comes to illuminate much more about the nature of this piece as I consider the jagged texture a possible allusion to the emotional dents after a lifetime of infinite introspection and personal critique. This thought, though driven by anxiety, helps me to understand why this piece deliberately hangs along amid a vast and blank space. Not only is the stark isolation required by its complex aesthetics, but also, breathing room is necessary as I embark on its convoluted emotional implications. Though Trockel successfully conveys the universality of human traits, she never denies them as complex and personal to each viewer and to herself.

As my mind plunges deeply into perceptions of identity, the astonishingly unforeseen appropriateness of the work’s title, Dessert II,dawns on me. With its neutral, sand-like color scheme, I initially misread it as “Desert”, referencing its likeness to a desolate field upon which numerous have journeyed in pensive contemplation. Upon realizing my mistake, I bask in the irony of the added s: an unexpected supplement of sweetness that quietly comments on the social construction of the female gender. Dessert, the final element within the compositional structure of a meal, is a traditionally feminine, domestic responsibility. When comparing the title with the aesthetic properties of the work, however, it appears as though the trophy-winning, homemade vanilla cake has been smashed in with a proverbial sledgehammer. It’s as if Trockel is screaming in defiance of the unexamined social structure of the traditionally feminine. A sweet thought, indeed.

The broader concept in this work transcends beyond Rosemarie Trockel into the undeniable allure of For the blind man... As her blurred reflection parodies the ridiculousness of declaring one immutable definition of the self, For the blind man… dares you to live life in the absence of defined knowledge or explanation. To experience the bliss of not knowing, at least for a moment, is the gift of this exhibition and a draw impossible to neglect.

For more information on Dessert 2 and Rosemarie Trockel click here.

Image: Rosemarie Trockel. Dessert 2, 2007. Ceramic, glazed. 27 1/2 h x 28 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches. Private Collection, New York. Courtesy Donald Young Gallery, Chicago.
Photo: Tom Van Enyde. © Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Open Studios kicks off tonight, and let me tell you-there is excitement in the air. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes Open Studios such an exciting event. Maybe it is the overall community movement, or the intimacy of so many details coming together. It’s just such an amazing experience. My first year, I drove with friends to different studios throughout the studio. The second year, I hopped on a trolley (bus tour info here), last year I rode my bike in 100 degree heat (and it was awesome. Trek organizes the tours. Meet at the Contemporary at 10 am this Saturday or Sunday and embark. You can even drop out part way through if you aren’t able to commit to the whole day). This year, I may do a little of each. With so many artists all over the city, there’s certainly not a lack of opportunity.

Recently, our info email account received a request from a MESH reader, pleading to know who had created a artwork pictured in the magazine. Serendipitously, I had visited that studio two years ago and remember the experience so vividly that I knew exactly who the artist was and could connect them. While I was chatting on the phone with the artist this week (as a result of this email connection), He mentioned that around fifteen people visited his studio last year. I was going to apologize for the light traffic and hope for more this year-but he stopped me in mid-sentence and told me he sold six or seven works that day. Holy Cow! Amazing! And although selling artwork isn’t a primary goal (it hasn’t been on our list at all yet), it’s certainly nice.

City-Wide Open Studios began as an attempt to promote a conversation between those who appreciate art and those who make it. The first year we started this program 37 artists joined us. Just four years later, we have more than 150 artists, from such varied backgrounds and practices. Does everyone understand the wealth of art being made in St. Louis today? It’s incredible. Go out. See art. Support the community. Just enjoy. A studio visit is a unique experience that will reside in your memory for years to come. Hesitant? For a taste of last year’s event (and to see some of the dialog happening) visit the video by Laurent Torno 3.

Tonight, the preview of work kicks off with a good old fashioned reception, complete with drinks and DJ. The work will remain in the museum for the rest of the week, admission free. And this weekend is IT: Open Studios 2009. Please visit the website for more info.

 The Contemporary is taking part of a program through Bank of America called Museums on Us®. This program provides Bank of America customers with free admission to cultural, arts, and educational institutions nationwide. The first Sunday of every month Bank of America customers can get into the museum free of charge when they present their ATM, check or credit card and an ID. There are more than 100 other institutions participating in this program, so if you can’t take advantage of it here in St. Louis, take a look at the list of all other places you can visit for free.

Okay okay, so this really isn’t all about how our curator posed for a picture in a clown wig (though that does make it all the more fun…the photographer took “non-wig” pictures for about an hour then broke them out late in the shoot, they of course chose to run the below photo). It is really a fall arts preview by nine rising stars in the St. Louis arts scene.The article features Anthony Huberman, curator, Contemporary Art Museum; Davide Weaver, executive director, Taste of St. Louis; actor Magan Wiles; actor Khnemu Menu-Ra; Amie King, jewelry artist; Stacy West, executive and artistic director, MADCO; William James, principal percussion, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; C. Jay Conrod, singer-songwriter, R&B; Leslie Sanazaro, singer-songwriter, pop.

Read the article here.

 
Photo by Dawn Majors, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

We are preparing to start the celebration of our 5^th Anniversary Season. The Contemporary has been open and serving the public in its new space for five full years now! Opening Night of Lutz Bacher: Spill and Aϊda Ruilova: The Singles 1999 – Now, just 2 weeks away, is going to be unlike any of the others we have had, as it will be the kick-off to a year full of celebratory events for our 5^th Anniversary Season. The Opening will last from 5:00 to 10:00 pm (five full hours) and will also be the beginning of five weeks of free admission for all…be on the look out through the next year for all of our events correlating with our 5^th Anniversary Season.

This weekend is the last chance for guests to view the John Armleder and Oliver Mosset exhibition. On Monday it will start to come down and the installation of Lutz Bacher: Spill and Aida Ruilova: The Singles 1999 – Now will begin. Typically during the installation process all of the galleries would be closed-however, this time The Front Room will remain open! You can click here to see more information on The Front Room and the exhibiting artists. Visiting The Front Room is one way people can stay connected, but I also like to remind our visitors that there are many ways they can stay connected to the museum online. They can visit this blog as well as our facebook, myspace, and You Tube pages-all of which provide insight on museum happenings and also allow for public discussion. All of these online communication tools are also a good way for out-of-towners to involve themselves. How did we live before the internet?

For the current exhibition in The Front Room we built a ceiling! The room is now completely dark as the only light coming in is through the doorway. I walked in the room for the first time today and was immediately drawn in listening to and watching the video that is being projected onto the wall. Artist Brent Green currently occupies the space. According to our gallery guide he “makes films that are eccentric, delicate, anarchic, both melancholic and hopeful.” On the wall aside the one showing the video, Green painted a scene from his film Abe Lincoln. There are photos of the room and the painting below.