Synopses & Reviews
Gracing the cover jacket of Rachel Harrison's highly anticipated second monograph is an informal monument to the man who holds the Americas' namesake. The only hint to this memorial for the 15th century Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, is an apple resting on an outcropping of neon-green cement; of course the fact that the apple is not only artificial but has a bite taken out of it suggests otherwise to the discovery of these Edenic continents. This slight yet important fact raises the basic conceit of if i did it: the active disavowal of art's political function as a museological testament to the progress of social history. By tossing off this monumental propensity, Harrison builds antimonuments; not so much sculptures but lumpen aggregates of pop psychology. In addition to Vespucci, throughout the book, one finds that celebrities Johnny Depp and Tiger Woods are included in a pantheon with John Locke and 18th century Corsican revolutionary Pasquale Paoli, meanwhile Al Gore checks the temperature, Claude Levi-Strauss checks the door with a taxidermied hen and rooster and a bi-curious Alexander the Great is the master of ceremonies. The title, taken from O.J. Simpson's infamous hypothetical account of his murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Donald Goldman, groups this role call of high- and low- brow idols into a nonhierarchical tableau where cultural and political value are allotted only where one sees fit.
Synopsis
The Honey Collector (2002), by New York sculptor Rachel Harrison, is a grayish-purple monolith that holds an eclectic selection of squeeze-bottle honey bears on its front, and a flyer for a reliable cat-sitter, which helpfully includes tear-off phone number tabs, on its back. Harrison has made her career with these Minimalist-inspired works--which she updates with all manner of found elements besides honey bears, like Calvin Klein underwear packaging or photos of the teenage pop supergroup, Hanson. In a very tantalizing way, she takes the air out of the serious formalist legacy that inspires her sculptural forms by forcing them to do double-duty as mounts for such kitschy readymades. Harrison's newest work is a garish melange of colors, and includes even more unlikely everyday elements, such as canned Arnold Palmer tea, a hypodermic needle and a thermostat. This highly anticipated monograph includes a text by writer and artist John Kelsey.
Synopsis
Edited by Heike Munder. Text by Ellen Seifermann, John Kelsey, Heike Munde.