CCS Bard Hessel Museum of Art Presents CLAP on View March 27–May 22, 2011

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY — This spring, the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard) presents CLAP in the Hessel Museum of Art. Featuring more than 60 works from the Marieluise Hessel Collection, greatly expanded since the inauguration of the Hessel Museum in 2006, the exhibition includes many recent acquisitions on view for the first time. These include major new works by John Bock, Cosima Von Bonin, Paul Chan, Charline Von Heyl, William Pope.L, and Ryan Trecartin.

An opening reception for the exhibition will be held on Sunday, March 27, from 1– 4 pm.  Carolee Schneemann will orchestrate a “language activation” at 3 p.m. during the reception.  

Curated by CCS Bard graduate students Nova Benway, Michelle Hyun, Nathan Lee and Dylan Peet, in collaboration with CCS Bard executive director Tom Eccles, CLAP takes the opportunity afforded by the display of new acquisitions to rethink some of the common narratives that have accrued around the Hessel collection. The curators have also commissioned a new work by Tony Oursler for this exhibition. 

The title of the exhibition takes its inspiration from minimalist composer Steve Reich’s Clapping Music, 1972, an audio work in the Hessel Collection. Clapping Music is an early example and innovation of “phasing,” in which repetitive patterns or phrases of music fall in and out of unison with each other based on the subtle shift of one note. The physical gesture of the clap, meaningless in and of itself, produces a sound that becomes meaningful in context. This exhibition sets the stage for artworks to resonate in polyphonic ways — to clash, clang, jar against each other, and even occasionally harmonize. Rather than seeking to draw out the inner psychological life of artworks, CLAP asks what we can discern from their outsides — and what they can find in each other. Interpretation here becomes a byproduct, rather than a starting point: looking to gestures instead of identities, connections rather than histories, encounters versus explanations—the exhibition is less about applause, rather it brings things together, making noise.

CLAP includes work by:

Rita Ackermann, Nicolas Africano, Janine Antoni, Ida Applebroog, Siah Armajani, John Baldessari, Georg Baselitz, Joseph Beuys, Bik Van der Pol, John Bock, Cosima von Bonin, Richard Bosman, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Roger Brown, Michael Buthe, Paul Chan,

Liz Deschenes, Roe Ethridge, Tony Feher, Saul Fletcher, Robert Gober, Félix González-Torres, Wade Guyton, Mona Hatoum, Eberhard Havekost, Richard Hawkins, Charline von Heyl, Jim Hodges, Rebecca Horn, Alfredo Jaar, Neil Jenney, Joan Jonas, On Kawara, Jannis Kounellis, Sean Landers, Robert Mapplethorpe, Christian Marclay, Virgil Marti, Paul McCarthy, Allan McCollum, Mario Merz, Bruce Nauman, Gabriel Orozco, Tony Oursler, Giulio Paolini, Raymond Pettibon, William Pope.L, Lisi Raskin, Steve Reich, Jason Rhoades, Aïda Ruilova, Carolee Schneemann, David Shrigley, Lorna Simpson, Ryan Trecartin, Nicola Tyson, Kara Walker, Lawrence Weiner, Mark Winetrout, and Andrea Zittel.

Also on view during this exhibition is a new flag at the CCS entrance by Bard undergraduate student, James Bayard: Untitled (text me when u get here).

About the Center for Curatorial Studies
The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard) is an exhibition, education, and research center dedicated to the study of art and curatorial practices from the 1960s to the present day. In addition to the CCS Bard Galleries and Hessel Museum of Art, the Center houses the Marieluise Hessel Collection, as well as an extensive library and curatorial archives that are accessible to the public. The Center’s two-year M.A. program in curatorial studies is specifically designed to deepen students’ understanding of the intellectual and practical tasks of curating contemporary art. Exhibitions are presented year-round in the CCS Bard Galleries and Hessel Museum of Art, providing students with the opportunity to work with world-renowned artists and curators. The exhibition program and the Hessel Collection also serve as the basis for a wide range of public programs and activities exploring art and its role in contemporary society.

The CCS Bard Galleries and Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College are open Wednesday through Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. All CCS Bard exhibitions and public programs are free and open to the public. Limited free seating is available on a chartered bus that leaves from New York City for the March 27 opening. The bus returns to New York City after the opening. Reservations are required; call 845.758.7598 or email [email protected].

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This event was last updated on 04-15-2014

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