Doll Clothes, Cindy Sherman. 1975. 

Upon a second visit to see the Cindy Sherman Retrospective at the MoMA this week, I discovered this delightful film and several photographic collages created early on in her career. They are obscure and less circulated than the Film Stills and other iconic images by Sherman, and so I wanted to share it with you all. Hope you enjoy!

Happenings: Frances Stark at MoMA PS1

Lately, in addition to the still photographic image, we’ve been contemplating the relationship between the moving image and the photograph. And quite soon we’ll be launching a series on the Conveyor blog that investigates work that is tangential yet still related to photography through its visual manifestation, aesthetics, content, thought process, etc. So stay tuned, and for now, enjoy Frances Stark.  

My Best Thing, by Frances Stark, is a feature-length animation constructed from a series of conversations and relationships within online video chats.  

Divided into 10 episodes, the video’s structure takes on the form of a mid-afternoon soap opera that chronicles the conversations of Stark herself, age 44, with two younger Italian men in their mid-twenties. The script is from original conversations with these two characters using an online video chat platform.  Using xtranormal.com, an online company that animates text-to-speech, Stark gives their dialogue a voice, albeit a rather monotone and character-less one. The computer-like flat-toned utterances protect the anonymity of the men — the only clue to their identities is computer generated Italian accents.   These two avatars engage in sexual play as well as discuss politics, film history, and their personal lives. Ducking in and out, from the purely sexual into the deeply personal. Philosophical moments reach their rise in lines such as “I think that from sexual attraction can be born an idea”, originally written during their discussion of potential collaboration on a project.

While their voices leave no sense of expression of emotion, occasionally a batting of the eyes or a twist of the hips clue us into their feelings. Mispronunciations caused by errors in the software and irregular dynamics in the flow of speech add a layer of humor that points towards the possible absurdity of digitized communication.

My Best Thing made its debut at the 54th Venice Biennale, and is currently on view at MoMA PS1 through the end of March 2012.

MoMA PS 1
22-25 Jackson Ave 
Long Island City, NY

For More Information, Visit: { http://momaps1.org/exhibitions/view/342 }

PRINT/OUT Exhibition + Print Studio at MoMA

I finally dropped by the Museum of Modern Art to check out the PRINT/OUT show, Located alongside the Cindy Sherman Retrospective on the top floor of the MoMA, PRINT/OUT is what one might expect from a museum showcasing their collection of a particular media. In this case, the media is print.

Overall it wasn’t as stimulating as some other design shows I’ve seen lately, particularly the Graphic Design: Now in Production recently exhibited at the Walker Art Center and coming soon to New York. Maybe it’s because print, and print-making, is a medium that begs to be touched. It is full of texture and process, and oftentimes the final product doesn’t give clue to the complexity that went into creating the work. 

There were some definite highlights, for me Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Kara Walker, and Marina Abramovićare always a pleasure. And Philippe Parreno’s glow-in-the dark prints, were really a great way to bring the two-dimensional art form into the realm of a sensorial experience for the viewer. And glow-in-the-dark art, is just, really really great.

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But the real gem of the show is the accompanying Print Studio and Millennium Magazines show at the the MoMA’s Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building. No, not just because Conveyor Magazine is featured. Well, maybe a little. But mostly because you can touch the art objects, leaf through the books and magazines. And even make your own books and zines. There is a lot of really exciting publishing-related programming organized around the Print Studio, including several collaborations with organizations such as the Reanimation Library in Gowanus and Triple Canopy.

Below are some images from the Millennium Magazines show. You should go. It’s free, and fun. Also, stay posted on the MoMA’s site { visit here } to see when there will be related programming with the Print Studio.

Print Studio

January 23–March 9, 2012
The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building

Museum of Modern Art
Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building
4 West 54th Street
New York, New York 

Open Daily Wednesday through Monday 12:00 p.m. to 4:00.

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Mapping, Issue No. 2
http://conveyorarts.org/mapping

Cindy Sherman at the MoMA

Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending the event of the season: the opening reception of the Cindy Sherman Retrospective at MoMA. Amidst an impressive crowd, Cindy managed to be in every corner, haunting the walls with her penetrating stare and visceral costuming. 

Thirty-five years of self-portraiture inundates the walls of the exhibition, including small vintage black and white prints from her groundbreaking series, “Untitled Film Stills,” and pterodactyl-sized decals installed directly on the outer walls of the entrance to the show. Upon walking through the rooms, it is clear that Associate Curator Eva Respini carefully engineered the mood of each period of Sherman’s career.

One particularly engaging room has a salon presentation of Sherman’s more painterly works, adorned with regal gold frames and hung upon a maroon painted wall.  The effect is transportive; the viewer feels for a moment like they are in a Renaissance painting chamber.

Although Sherman’s art has been deemed painfully repetitive and self-indulgent by some, her prodigious influence in the field of photography and contemporary art is undeniable.   Walking through the massive installation, the viewer can watch Sherman grow as an artist before their very eyes, and feel compelled by the sheer historical importance of Sherman’s work.

Cindy Sherman
Museum of Modern Art
On View Through June 11, 2012

For More Information Visit: www.moma.org.