Tony Oursler, “Me, Myself, I” (1996), courtesy Metro Pictures, NY

Curated by
Cassandra Coblentz,
Gillian Cuthill,
Ryan Doherty,
Luiza Interlenghi,
Markéta Uhlirova

What does it take to capture your attention? The bombardment of images that dominates contemporary visual culture impairs our ability to discriminate or pay attention. This over-exposure numbs the ways in which we see, hear, and experience the world, often resulting in a state of distraction and indifference.

Artists have devised strategies to challenge this condition. The works in this exhibition use means of direct address to involve the viewer in creating meaning. Because many of the works address “you,” you become inseparable from the artwork. A complication is introduced into the relationship between two originally autonomous entities, the artwork and the viewer. They become interdependent. The viewer is engaged by diverse means including projection, reflection, text, and explicit confrontation. Some of the works push the notion of self-consciousness to a point of discomfort and frustration; others use more subtle strategies to elicit a response that goes beyond mere witnessing. As we become aware of our individual responsibility in the production of meaning, our attention and participation are imperative: You need to be there.

Work by Vito Acconci, Peter Campus, Günther Forg, Jenny Holzer, Robert Longo, Paul McCarthy, Christopher Wool.