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In his Critique of Everyday Life, Volume 1 (1945), Henri Lefebvre wrote, "The concept of everydayness [can] reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary." In concert with this idea, the artists in Re(f)use employ objects drawn from everyday life, refuse to ignore their "object-hood," and re-purpose them into works of art. Contemplating new concerns–poetry, metaphor, aesthetics, sociopolitical commentary, artistic dialogue–these revitalized objects elevate the banal. The title of the exhibition refers to the words "refuse" and "reuse," displaying two possibilities for the works in the exhibition: the transformation of refuse into works of art, and the reemployment of objects again for new meaning. There is also an element of play in the title, which, as a verb, "refuses" the objects a singular purpose. The works in Re(f)use share a palpable affinity with Arte Povera and, in turn, with conceptualism, minimalism, process art, feminist art, and performance. The term Arte Povera was coined in 1967 by art critic and curator Germano Celant and described a process of open-ended experimentation. As a movement and collective identity, Arte Povera was structured around the use of humble materials and the desire to disassociate art from formal limitations. Giovanni Anselmo, in particular, addresses the tensions between materials and meaning, nature and art. Included here as a point of departure is Anselmo’s Untitled (1968), which consists of granite, lettuce, and copper wire. The work literally relies on the lettuce to sustain it: as it wilts, the wire becomes loose and granite crumbles to the floor. Jannis Kounellis and Cady Noland treat objects with reverence and respect. Kounellis assembles organic and industrial materials and hangs them on the wall to be revered in the same manner that one would a painting, whereas Noland presents a repetition of objects in their original sense–to be what they are–emphasizing the object, the space it occupies, and the viewer. Poetically using the repetition of form in his sculptures, Felix Gonzalez-Torres emphasizes the relevance of personal experience. Untitled (Para un Hombre en Uniforme) (1991) is a conceptual portrait that consists of 220 pounds of red, white, and blue rocket-shaped lollipops based on the weight of a "man in uniform." Representing the ephemeral and fragile nature of life, the viewer is invited to take from the lot, in turn participating in the metamorphosis of the piece. Gabriel Orozco addresses our relationship to common objects by invoking an emotional and mental response to the physical. His photographs focus on everyday objects, some found and some repositioned in the landscape, which play meanings against each other to address issues of commodity culture, economic tensions, industrial production, and ecological damage. Also included in the exhibition are two collages in which Orozco alters a five-peso note and an airplane boarding pass with small drawings, reinvigorating the purpose of the value-less objects by transforming them into precious works of art. Many of the artists have reinvigorated objects with new purpose and meaning. Salvaging the discarded card catalogue of the Los Angeles Central Library, David Bunn reorganizes the cards based on a sequence of book titles to generate poetry. Pruitt & Early attach their decal to a pack of "Death" brand cigarettes–which already function as an ironic warning of the hazards of smoking–to investigate young men’s testosterone-fueled fantasies of pinup girls, fast cars, and heavy metal music. The work of Mona Hatoum is both personal and political. She uses the formal simplicity of minimalism to create evocations of displacement, cultural intersections, political conflict, the body, and feminist issues. Hatoum transforms domestic objects into commentaries that link identity and the physical world. Also commenting on the role of women, Martha Rosler’s 1975 video, Semiotics of the Kitchen, is a performed encyclopedia from A-to-Z in which the artist announces the objects of the kitchen (e.g., "A" for apron), using physical gestures to replicate the object’s role. Drawing her imagery from popular culture, Rhonda Zwillinger uses materials associated with women to challenge concepts of ‘’high art." In Foot Fetish: Achilles Heel Right and Achilles Heel Left (1984), Zwillinger decorates a pair of shoes with sequins and beads. The ‘’fetish’’ in the form of shoes merges both fashion and philosophy to comment on superficiality and concern with appearance vs. philosophical thought. Tony Cragg philosophically revisits art from the past in a representation of Michelangelo’s David (1984) that is pieced together with modern detritus. By refusing mundane meanings, by reusing the artifacts of the everyday, and by transforming refuse to articulate new concerns, the artists in Re(f)use resoundingly confirm Lefebvre’s observation, managing to find "the extraordinary in the ordinary." And half a century later, in a 1995 interview with Robert Storr in ArtPress, Felix Gonzalez-Torres affirmed that, indeed, "there is meaning in everything we do."
Exhibition Checklist Giovanni Anselmo David Bunn David Bunn Tony Cragg Peter Fischli and David
Weiss Felix Gonzalez-Torres Mona Hatoum Mona Hatoum Jannis Kounellis Cady Noland Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco Pruitt & Early Martha Rosler Rhonda Zwillinger
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