Post-Jewish: The New Authentics:Artists of the Post-Jewish Generation

In her introduction to the catalogue for "Post-Jewish: The New Authentics: Artists of the Post-Jewish Generation," exhibition Stacy Boris states "the effort to define (or complicate) a particular self or group is a vital pursuit that reflects social circumstances, challenges preconceived notions, and moves culture forward." The sixteen artists included with the "The New Authentics," explore not only their jewishishness, but also the concerns of their generation, my generation.

One work that stuck out me was a sculpture entitled "The Settler" by David Altmejd, which explored ideas of metamorphosis. "The Settler" is an elaborate sculpture that features" a prone and decaying hairy figure out of which mirrored fragments erupt and almost envelop the body. What appears to be a corpse seems to be attempting to generate new life, accentuating processes of transformation rather than stagnation." The thing that most intrigued me about this piece was the metaphor that was created by the hairy figure (which resembled a werewolf) situated among the pieces of glass. The metaphor of the werewolf is not only powerful within the context of "The New Authentics", in which no matter how hard you try to hide your identity it will eventually be apparent, but is also symbolic of every individual who has a history.



Another piece that stuck out to me was a 7 part video installation by Joel Tauber entitled, "Seven Attempts to Make a Ritual." "Seven Attempts to Make a Ritual," consists of seven simultaneously playing videos that document Tauber as he inserts himself into holes in the earth in hopes of establishing a divine connection. Tauber states about this piece, " I feel that the idea of searching for a ritual to relate to God is taboo among the intellectual elite in our postmoderd world. It is precisely because of its lack of coolness that I feel that it is critical to tell the story." I enjoy this piece it speaks to the frustrations of our daily lives and not being able to live up to the expectations that are placed upon us by society.

Here is a link to Joel Tauber's video

Overall I thought "Post-Jewish: The New Authentics: Artists of the Post-Jewish Generation" was a compelling exhibition that explored issues of a generation that is in the process of creating its own history.

The post-black: Freestyle

The Freestyle exhibition at The Studio Museum in Harlem , also known as the post-black exhibition, presented 28 balck artists who were adament about not being labeled as black artists, unlike their predecessore. In her introduction to the Freestyle catalogue, curator Thelma Golden, states" the art of the 1990's stands between that multicultural moment and now, a link to that past and present, one of the great legacies of that period in the early 90's was that many artists emerged empowered. That generation, the beneficiaries of many and the heirs of a few includes artists such as Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Lorna Simpson, among others. This generation reinvented the debate on culture and identity in contemporary art. They set the platform for this new post-black existenxce in contemporary art." Unlike previous black artists, whose work only engaged notions of blackness, this new crop of artists created works which were still highly steeped in redefinig complex notions of blackness, simultaneously engaging issues and ideas such as culture, religion, gender, sexuality, feminism, the body popular culture, political, social and economic history.

For me, the importance of the Freestyle exhibition was in its overwhelming sense of individuality. Unlike many previous exhibitions that attempted to create a universal unity, such as the Family of Man Show, Freestyle embraced diversity, suggesting that it is our individual experiences that create a more complete sense of the human experience.

I found the reading, "The Ironies of Diversity, or the Disappearing Black Artist, " by Dawoud Bey interesting in comparison to an earlier reading, " Why have there been no great women artists," by Linda Nochlin. In his writing Bey exposes the very real fact that even though there seems to be a an acceptance of diversity as a cultural and social fact f life, there is still a narrow conceptual space for black artists. In the same way that Nochlin faults the institution for not allowing female artists to take their place within the art cannon, Bey faults the institution for its lack of acknowledgment of Black artists. Within and outside of the art world, no matter how open minded or "multicultural" we believe to be there is still a very real fact that people are judged on their skin color and sexual orientation.