Ward Shelley Who Invented the Avant Garde and other half truths

James Kalm catches up with conceptual artist Ward Shelley on the closing day of his exhibition Who Invented the Avant-Garde and other half truths. This exhibition presents three bodies of recent work, Archive an installation of hundreds of idea boxes that represent an externalization of the artists mind, Sleeper Experiment in which the artist is exposed to a computerized voice repeating donated texts from viewers, and the Timeline Paintings which trace the developments and derivations of various cultural happenings in graphic form.
Includes extended explanations of the works by Ward Shelley.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• James
• Kalm
• Ward
• Shelley
• Pierogi
• Gallery
• painting
• drawing
• sculpture
• installation
• conceptual
• art
• timeline
• history
• Post-Modernism
• New
• York
• Williamsburg
• Brooklyn

[MrWowforever]

artists movements, or groupings, are often named by those outside the actual groups. The artists usually detest the given names. It's usually an institution or a writer who want to contextualize a group for their own ends (exhibitions and books). I can't help seeing mr. shelleys work as decorative (nicely done!) book illustrations. Informative about 'groupings', but very little about mr. shelley. thanks.

[jameskalm]

"The artists usually detest the given names." That is until time passes and the artists whole reputation is based on their association with a particular movement. Most of this labeling and designating is for the purpose of giving people (99% of whom aren't artists) a shorthand way to identify intellectual and cultural forces.

[RonSchira]

also, ... were the boxes full or empty?

[jameskalm]

They were full of ideas?

[RonSchira]

This is similar to what you do, especially the timeline piece, good stuff.

[jameskalm]

We've got a mutual admiration society going.

[pishdad]

@RonSchira They were full of empty!

[valedictorianmusic]

@pishdad Art is much more than visual, its math and science. The very fabrics of life!

[valedictorianmusic]

The new age of Avant Garde is upon us. In our generation we are spoiled by technology to the point that everything that the human mind recieves has to be presented with a visual. No longer the days of using only one human sense! The future Avant Garde period will give birth to not just visual artist but hybrid creators "visual artist/entertainers"!

[pishdad]

It's amazing. I've seen people who don't even consider themselves to be 'serious' artist do better work than these pretentious forms of art!! God these people just so over intellectualize so much that you just see reminants of major art train accidents!! Ha, ha, ha!! This is amazing. So incredibly pretentious! Monstrocity is a great name for this! Yuk.

[Yamonthese]

I think the maps are cool but it feels like he did them more as a research project of whatever he found versus an actual...lineage of influences and movements and whatnot

[Yamonthese]

lolz@ being evicted

[LStarCooperative]

Great informationist work

[tacitadean]

yes!

[MrWowforever]

..is it Mark Lombardi?