Chain Letter – Art Mayhem
Today I made a valiant effort to install a piece at the Chain Letter show at Shoshana Wayne Gallery at Bergamot Station. The installation started at 10am. By the time I headed down there at 11:30, the traffic was already INSANE on Cloverfield. The police turned us away because the parking lot was full...so we snuck in the back way.
For those of you who haven't heard about this show, initially 10 artists were invited to participate, those 10 then invited 10 more whom they admire and so on. This cycle continued for 30 days, here's an excerpt from the website:
'Chain Letter' is a group show rooted in the ideals of inclusion, and highlights the social nature of the art world. It is the hope of the curators that the response will be vast and that the artists represented will be an exponential representation of all artists that are currently working and admired by their peers.
The result is an exponentially massive, artist-curated group show based entirely on admiration...Chain Letter mimics communication today; and the way in which information is passed. The outcome will be a testament to the power of connectivity within society at present.
It's an awesome idea, the concept is incredible, but the gallery space was maxed out- they had given out 650 numbers, and there were still hundreds of people waiting in line with art of all shapes and sizes. It looked like a swap meet.
People were mostly of good cheer, although some cynical voices were heard in the line: "is this what artists have to do to get their art seen?"
Inside...
Are there words...the good, the bad and the ugly...
This is a floor only show. There was some work that I actually thought was beautiful, original, creative, funny...but it was a challenge to see it. Some exhibitors were, I felt, really rude, by taking up inordinate amounts of floor space (not a very cooperative spirit).
In the end, I decided not to install my piece. The gallery didn't provide any insurance, and the risk for a ceramic piece was just too great. Aside from the fact that the line was still 3 hours long, I had no water or sunscreen, and most importantly, the space was already full! BUT, I got tremendous value from the experience.
I would encourage you to go see the show and join the hundreds of artists and their family and friends, if you can find a parking spot. It's quite an experience. More art than you could ever see at one time together, ever!
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 23, 6 - 8 pm, the show is up until about August 25
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