‘YOUNGER THAN JESUS’ ARTISTS FIND VOYEURISM INSPIRING: REVIEW
Katya Kazakina
Bloomberg
news?pid=20601088&sid=aVVOiU4bgfAw&refer=m use
April 16 2009
A young woman naps on a pedestal- like bed, unperturbed by Soviet-era
propaganda music and sensual Latin melodies playing a few feet away.
The setting is the New Museum in New York and the sleeping beauty
is a living sculpture by Chinese artist Chu Yun. For the next three
months a rotating group of women fueled with sleeping pills will
recreate Chu’s island of serenity — snapping photos is allowed —
as part of the museum’s lively first triennial, "The Generational:
Younger Than Jesus."
Guilt-free voyeurism and exhibitionism are common threads among the
works by 50 international artists born after 1976 (hence the title
reference to Jesus, crucified at 33). No surprise here. This crowd
grew up in an era where it’s perfectly acceptable to share the most
intimate or mundane details of your life on the Internet.
There’s not much rebellion in "Younger Than Jesus." This cyber-savvy
generation instead remixes vast quantities of visual information from
all kinds of sources to construct its own reality, all to spirited
effect.
Armenian artist Tigran Khachatryan’s aggressive, fast-paced video
weaves grainy, black-and-white footage from Soviet avant- garde films
with shots of teenage skinheads fighting, giving Nazi salutes and
jumping away from speeding trains.
China’s Liu Chuang approached strangers on the street, offering to
buy everything on them for $500. It’s unclear how the handoffs took
place, but at least three people said yes. Their personal items — from
underwear and socks to makeup and credit cards — are neatly arranged
on three platforms. For this group, anything can be displayed as art.
Video Dominates
All mediums are represented, though video and photography
dominate. More unusual experiments include Mark Essen’s video game,
projected onto a wall that visitors can play with; Icaro Zorbar’s
collage of three turntables surrounding a fourth one playing Latin
music and Ruth Ewan’s jukebox with 1,200 protest songs.
Painting doesn’t seem to be popular among the 145 works on display.
One exception is Poland’s Jakub Julian Ziolkowski whose imaginative,
painstaking canvases contain labyrinths but almost no empty space. "The
Great Battle Under the Table" is a large maze of tiny warring soldiers,
barbarians and dragons. The scene recalls Hieronymus Bosch; the
layered compositional intricacy brings to mind a Persian rug.
Thumping Music
Many of the artists have an affinity for videos that either dwell on
images of ultimate doom or move at time-warped speed while playing
thumping music.
In his animated "Panoptikon," Turkish artist Emre Huner’s
post-apocalyptic scenes are a mix of science-fiction imagery with
patterns from Turkish textiles and ceramics. French artist Cyprien
Gaillard’s footage of gangs of fighting young men on the outskirts
of St. Petersburg, Russia, bring to mind Khachatryan’s manic youths.
Gaillard’s video is set to a fabulous dance soundtrack by the French
musician Koudlam. Like the music, the actions of the men have a
repetitive, meditative quality. The correspondence between the sound
and images makes the piece engaging.
Philadelphia-based Ryan Trecartin’s hyperactive videos depict a world
populated by hysterical characters with ambiguous genders. They speak
gibberish at breakneck speed in digitally manipulated voices. Many
sport blue teeth and garish makeup.
Trecartin has a huge following on YouTube. I got a headache 10
minutes into watching it. But that could be because I am two years
older than Jesus.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
