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Indepth Arts News:
"The Happiness of Objects: A Group Exhibition"
2007-04-29 until 2007-07-29
Sculpture Center
Long Island City, NY,
USA United States of America
SculptureCenter is pleased to present The Happiness of Objects, a group exhibition
including work by Fia Backstrom, Philippe Decrauzat, Sylvie Fleury, Jutta Koether, Sol LeWitt,
Olivier Mosset, Ward Shelley and J. St. Bernard among others. The Happiness of Objects will be on
view April 29 – July 29, 2007. The subject of SculptureCenter’s upcoming show embraces W.J.T. Mitchell’s invitation to consider
the possibility that objects have their own desires (What do Pictures Want? The Lives and Loves
of Images, 2005). While Mitchell focuses on the relationship between the image or object and the
viewer, The Happiness of Objects will attempt to capture what objects want from other objects,
from the context of their display to potential response to their presence. These terms involve a
mixture of formal and subjective concerns such as space, light, proximity, participation and
understanding.
In the attempt to crystallize some of the main points of Mitchell’s hypothesis, the exhibition
proposes The Object’s Bill of Rights, a non-exhaustive and disputable list. This will serve as
criteria for the exhibition, and a working document to be completed and informed by participating
artists. It is also a necessary prelude to considering the object as an autonomous subject within a
larger society of objects. Here is a sample of these rights and obligations: “An Object has the
right to many lovers; An Object has the right to fuse with other objects; An Object has the right
to acknowledge its history of production; An Object has the right to be dysfunctional; An Object
has the right to be silent; An Object has the right to a new identity”.
Sign or de-sign? That is the question of the object. The Happiness of Objects is organized by
SculptureCenter curator Sarina Basta.
SculptureCenter’s programs are supported in part by The National Endowment for the Arts; New
York City Councilman Eric Gioia; The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and The New
York State Council on the Arts; as well as The A. Woodner Fund; The Andy Warhol Foundation for
the Visual Arts; Bloomberg; Citibank; The Dedalus Foundation, Inc.; The Jerome Foundation;
JPMorgan Chase; The Ken and Judith Joy Foundation; The Kraus Family Foundation; The Milton
and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; The New York Community Trust; and The Starry Night Fund of
the Tides Foundation.
Founded by artists in 1928, SculptureCenter is a not-for-profit arts institution dedicated to
experimental and innovative developments in contemporary sculpture. SculptureCenter
commissions new work and presents exhibits by emerging and established, national and
international artists. In 2001, SculptureCenter purchased a former trolley repair shop in Long
Island City, Queens. This facility, designed by artist/designer Maya Lin, includes 6,000 square
feet of interior exhibition space, offices, and outdoor exhibition space.
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