www.chrisstiegler.com

Canada, a small art space in New York’s Chinatown, has had the benefit of attracting decent artists and a fair share of good press.  On view there now is a fantasical show about the birth of creative ideas - namely sculpture - by Jocelyn Shipley.  Basically the show displays  florescent, naturally inspired forms built out of industrial material with googly-eyes that are potential works of art.  It is cute to a point, but never really all that interesting.  The nature of the work is not made any better by putting it under a black light either.  Shipley’s kitschy appreciation for childhood references does develop a playful aesthetic, but the work stops there.  As viewers, we are left with almost no emotion or empathy for these things - which is odd since they have eyes.  ¶Canada’s founder, Sarah Braman, is the author of a more successful show at Museum 52.  Like most 3D work these days, her’s is borne out minimalist appreciation of industry and our cultures obsession with cheaply made things.  In the vein of Chamberlain, who mashed car detritus together to create poetic balls of metal, Braman combines veneered desks, pick-up truck hoods among other materials to similar ends.  It is as much an essay on our disposable culture as it is about our penchant for reminiscence.  All the things she uses to build these structures seems to be venerated with a heartwarming past.  They are not simply affixed, but conjoined by collective history.  This is the stuff that we all had and we all lost or disregarded.  But Braman’s point seems to be that we are stuck with this crap.  It is all garbage, but unfortunately, its also our culture.  ¶These two shows explore a dichotomy of contemporary sculpture; that between the potential and the kinetic.  Shipley’s work is rooted in what our culture is going to create, our artistic future.  Unfortunately, the show falls short of grandiose claims and instead locates our impending culture in childlike stories of ‘art-in-waiting.’  Braman, however, is exploring our current moment by exploring the things that we have already made, used and discarded.  ¶Potential unfolds precariously in the face of history.  Its too easy to fantasize about what’s next.  What is needed is a careful examination of where we are in light of where we came from.  Examining our garbage seems a good place to start.  

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