黑料不打烊

Receipt of a Magical Agent employs the structure of the fairy tale as a curatorial approach, drawing from the morphology devised by twentieth-century Russian folklorist Vladimir Propp. According to Propp鈥檚 formal analysis, the fairy tale can be broken down into thirty-one essential functions鈥攚hich include trickery, interdiction, and pursuit鈥攁nd delineate a sequence of events that drive a narrative of deception and confrontation, revelation and resolution.

In Receipt of a Magical Agent, works of art from the Marieluise Hessel Collection have been selected to correlate with each of Propp鈥檚 functions. However, the relationship between works of art and their function remains malleable, and often evades the strict morphology that Propp constructs. Some works cheekily refer to their assigned function through their content, while others perform this function, or multiple functions, in ways that propel the exhibition鈥檚 narrative in new directions. In taking its title from Propp鈥檚 fourteenth function, Receipt of a Magical Agent refers to the point at which the hero acquires a magical object or capability, a nod to how works of art accrue value or gain new meaning through their inclusion in varied exhibition contexts.

Receipt of a Magical Agent is accompanied by a publication devised to draw out the dual organizing methodologies鈥攃uratorial and morphological鈥攖hat shape the exhibition. Designed by Maricris Herrera, the book features two modes of textual engagement: a series of texts that address each work of art individually, and a commissioned work of fiction that responds to Propp鈥檚 narrative structure and the artworks included in Receipt of a Magical Agent.