{"id":813,"date":"2009-07-16T11:36:02","date_gmt":"2009-07-16T18:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp\/2009\/07\/cars_are_common_in_galleries\/"},"modified":"2009-07-16T11:36:02","modified_gmt":"2009-07-16T18:36:02","slug":"cars_are_common_in_galleries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/2009\/07\/cars_are_common_in_galleries.html","title":{"rendered":"The immense void and high aspirations of American culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cars are common in galleries and museums, beginning with Ed Kienholtz’s Back Seat Dodge<\/i>, 1964. (Post here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Rarely, however, is there an installation that puts viewers inside the experience of life in a broken-down, barely-running van. <\/p>\n

The pure products of America go crazy<\/a>:<\/p>\n

No one
\nto witness
\nand adjust, no one to drive the car<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 
\"ohgevan.jpg\"<\/span>
Created by Eric Thompson and Aubrey Birdwell, the front room installation at OHGE Ltd<\/a> has an air of inevitability. You’re where you never wanted to be but knew you were going, slipping fast from middle class to teeter on the edge of dependent or maybe homeless. What you’ve got is the van. <\/p>\n

\"ohgevan2.jpg\"<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Video screens serve as the outside world. They’re blurry, as if you’ve been drinking. If you didn’t know better, you’d think you were driving underwater. Sound seals the deal. It gurgles with a slap-happy lurch and dull roar. <\/p>\n

OHGE Ltd is a tiny gallery, but this show gives it a sense of scale. In the backroom (really a closet) are Stephan Moore’s power-of-postive thinking videos, playing simultaneously. As people beam and chuckle, a voice drones nonsense about unlocking the door to brain chemistry happiness. <\/p>\n

\"ohgedream.jpg\"<\/span>
\nAlthough separate shows, the ads and the van are collectively titled, ENLIGHTEN ENCOURAGE EMPOWER<\/i>.<\/p>\n

From van men Thompson and Birdwell:<\/p>\n

\n

In travel and as a form of rogue property we often carry with us a semblance of the familiar den. <\/p>\n

The box with a locked door full of comforts for us alone. We carry this capsule to contain our individual and separate existences…We reject and embrace that we are free-floating and disconnected from everything around us. <\/p>\n

In space and temporal media, these pieces attempt to re-stage our memories of American life. Through cultural quotation we attempt to pry open the locked box and articulate the immense void of American culture.  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From Stephen Moore:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I asked Yahoo! Answers<\/i> for the key to becoming successful. Here is my favorite reply by user “dagmar”.<\/p>\n

I think you need talent but you also need drive and determination. Set your mind to what you are trying to accomplish and keep at it. Of course a lot of it depends on what you are trying to be successful in. If it is an artistic pursuit that can be a lot more difficult to succeed in than say, being a Dr. or an accountant. No matter what your goal, do the best you can and do it with joy and love. Make the best of whatever success you find and don’t be discouraged. If you try to enjoy life and not get too caught up in ‘success’ you can be very happy and satisfied.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cars are common in galleries and museums, beginning with Ed Kienholtz’s Back Seat Dodge, 1964. (Post here.) Rarely, however, is there an installation that puts viewers inside the experience of life in a broken-down, barely-running van. The pure products of America go crazy: No one to witness and adjust, no one to drive the car […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-813","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}