Visited the Guggenheim last time I was in NYC as I always do. This is my favorite building in New York and as far as museums go, probably my fave as architecture goes. The exhibit they had sounded promising - "Haunted", oh the wonderfully creepy images of ghostly art that flew into my brain....
Alas, the images in my brain were the best of the show. This exhibit lacked any creative spark- it was pretentious, calculated, lame and boring. So sad that such a great museum can waste it's gorgeous space on such listless art, especially when there is so much killer art out there. Any number of artists could fill that space with well deserved exhibits. Concurrently in NY galleries at the time, there were two - Judith Schaechter and Greg Simkins. Or how about really curating a show about really being haunted? Maybe some Chris Mars, Travis Louie, Mark Ryden or Colette Calascione? There was a familiar Warhol and a Rauschenberg to open it up, a Cindy Sherman and a not-so-strong Annette Messager. The only two new, fresh or moving images in the show are these, one is on the exhibit card (above) and the other is by Joan Jonas (below).
There seemed to be a plethora of snapshots, lacking quality composition and inventiveness as well. Still waiting... for the contemporary museums to get on the ball and show something different, deserving and contemporary.
Just off the top my head, a piece by Michael Ryan that would have been great in a "haunted" exhibit.
or this fantastic piece by Laurie Lipton...
And there is so much more out there...
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