SITUATION DOOM
The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, USA
1st Public White Cube
A project by Joachim Blank, Gerrit Gohlke and Karl Heinz Jeron
As part of the exhibition The Art of Participation, The 1st Public White Cube (PWC) is an attempt to produce interaction by economic means. In a series of auctions, the audience will be granted an opportunity to make a material change to an existing work of art and its exhibition situation. The auctions will take place via the Internet auction platform Ebay®.
The public was be able to influence the exhibition up to seven times during each of the two exhibition periods of six weeks. Members of the public purchased the right to influence the exhibition by bidding in a total of up to seven Ebay® auctions. Starting out from the initial installation by guest artist Ledia Carroll. The winner of the auction was permitted to add, remove or conceal objects, and to manipulate the space together with its artworks at his discretion. The only condition is that any work originally placed in the space by the exhibiting artist was not allowed be removed completely. Otherwise, the shape and means of his intervention remained entirely in the hands of the successful bidder.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, USA
1st Public White Cube
A project by Joachim Blank, Gerrit Gohlke and Karl Heinz Jeron
As part of the exhibition The Art of Participation, The 1st Public White Cube (PWC) is an attempt to produce interaction by economic means. In a series of auctions, the audience will be granted an opportunity to make a material change to an existing work of art and its exhibition situation. The auctions will take place via the Internet auction platform Ebay®.
The public was be able to influence the exhibition up to seven times during each of the two exhibition periods of six weeks. Members of the public purchased the right to influence the exhibition by bidding in a total of up to seven Ebay® auctions. Starting out from the initial installation by guest artist Ledia Carroll. The winner of the auction was permitted to add, remove or conceal objects, and to manipulate the space together with its artworks at his discretion. The only condition is that any work originally placed in the space by the exhibiting artist was not allowed be removed completely. Otherwise, the shape and means of his intervention remained entirely in the hands of the successful bidder.
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From “Situation Room” to “Situation Doom”
This work really is a slightly humorous, reaction or comment on the so called "Situation Room" created by the previous winner, Scott M. MacLeod, and the loneliness of the hyper neat and tidy sand dunes originally installed by Ledia Carroll. Which looked more like the stereo typical cartoon image of a mini desert island. As well as the worldwide socioeconomic outlook at the time.
I sent my instruction to San Francisco MOMA to cut up the contents of Scott M. MacLeod's "Situation Room" with a chain saw and to half bury the contents in the sand.
With the American elections eminent, a massive collective feeling of expectant apprehension across the US and the world. Contradictions in the feelings about the future are fairly apparent: in the news, on the net and hot on our lips, as many pronounce that our precarious existence is on the verge of total salvation or total disaster.
The intended interpretation of this wreckage is the potential disaster scenario. Perhaps the remains after some kind of terrorist attack that, those in this “situation room” have failed to prevent. An inside conspiracy: a set up to feed Western paranoia. Some kind of “Reset” button that blew the whole worlds up so we can start again. A blockbuster movie fantasy, of a forced return to a supposed utopian primitive life, for the few lucky survivors of some epic disaster. (We were chosen to survive for a reason right!?) The plane crash in unknown lands, a la “Lost”. Whichever way this could be construed there is a feeling of “What now?”
The intervention is a satirical enactment of these ideas.
To see what came before, and after, this contribution and for more info about the exhibition please visit the 1st Public White Cube website
