Samaritans
The best way through this exhibition is by looking at the art and reading the lyrics above by Will Oldham. I鈥檝e organized this thing with very particular modes and works in mind: Myth-making; emotive figuration; idol worship; humanism and its defects. There is also a sprawling and sometimes gnarled network here: Each artist is connected to at least one other, and usually more, by friendship, inspiration, and influence. Moreover, I鈥檓 nearly always involved in wanting the art to touch me and to, in turn, give it a place to go 鈥� inside of me, or you. Minds in which to dwell. I want a sense of beings in these rooms 鈥� beings you can talk to. So, where you sense the connections, believe me, they are there.
A few ways in: Gary Panter鈥檚 drawing of a gentle metaphysical picnic, which I used as a map; Ellen Berkenblit鈥檚 striding familiar offering hope; Jason Fox鈥檚 eternal hulk bridging mud and cosmos. Laurie Simmons鈥� action figure, on the brink of saving or suiciding. The amorphous figure of refusal by Mike Kelley, who I miss all the time.
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The best way through this exhibition is by looking at the art and reading the lyrics above by Will Oldham. I鈥檝e organized this thing with very particular modes and works in mind: Myth-making; emotive figuration; idol worship; humanism and its defects. There is also a sprawling and sometimes gnarled network here: Each artist is connected to at least one other, and usually more, by friendship, inspiration, and influence. Moreover, I鈥檓 nearly always involved in wanting the art to touch me and to, in turn, give it a place to go 鈥� inside of me, or you. Minds in which to dwell. I want a sense of beings in these rooms 鈥� beings you can talk to. So, where you sense the connections, believe me, they are there.
A few ways in: Gary Panter鈥檚 drawing of a gentle metaphysical picnic, which I used as a map; Ellen Berkenblit鈥檚 striding familiar offering hope; Jason Fox鈥檚 eternal hulk bridging mud and cosmos. Laurie Simmons鈥� action figure, on the brink of saving or suiciding. The amorphous figure of refusal by Mike Kelley, who I miss all the time.
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The first lines of the song 鈥淚 See a Darkness鈥� (1999) by Will Oldham, aka Bonnie 鈥淧rince鈥� Billy, go like this: 鈥淲ell you鈥檙e my friend / That鈥檚 what you told me.鈥�(1) Dan Nadel, curator of 鈥淪AMARITANS鈥� at Eva Presenhuber, suggests viewers read the lyrics while visiting the...
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