“One could say that the press release, considered as a medium, meets its match – for fraughtness, for derision inspiring valedictorianism, for metonymic fidelity to the churning undercurrents of value, taste, power, etc – in the medium of painting. Fine. One could also say that saying that is the cheapest price of admission to the Show.
Now that we’ve paid, I have to tell you that this show – in its lowercase leisure – does not yet exist. I guess that in a way this lightens our load and description can slouch into speculation. For instance, I speculate that there will be at least three paintings. I speculate there will be some other things, that are not paintings, but are similar to paintings. Also, I promise there won’t be any plants. Beyond these vague offerings not much else needs to be said. The specifics, as is often the case in the realm of the aesthetic, remain to be seen.
For now though, I’m going to relish the future’s blurry vista. Maybe there is no better tool for revealing the contingent nature of boundaries than astigmatism. We should roll with it, internalize it, embody it. Roger Caillois called this kind of radical mimesis “an incantation frozen at its high point,” although to be fair he was talking about bugs. I’d maintain that its a pretty good description of a painting, which is both defined by and overflowing its limit.”
Sebastian Black
25 April 2013
For downloadable press release click here.
