Artists Space

Anarchism Without Adjectives:
On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979)

September 10 – October 16, 2011

When I state that I am an anarchist, I must also state that I am not an anarchist, to be in keeping with the (….) idea of anarchism. Long live anarchism.
-Christopher D’Arcangelo

A book with blank pages is sitting open on a white table, seen from above. A person
Still from video interview with Benjamin Buchloh about the work of Christopher D'Arcangelo, conducted by Dean Inkster and Sébastien Pluot, 2010. [A book with blank pages is sitting open on a white table, seen from above. A person's right hand rests on the table next to the book, while the left is lifted in gesture.]

Anarchism Without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979) is curated by Dean Inkster and Sébastien Pluot, together with Richard Birkett and Stefan Kalmár of Artists Space.

Between 1975 and 1979, the US artist Christopher D’Arcangelo (1955-1979) developed an artistic practice notable for its radicality and critical import concerning the role of the artist, the status of the art object and the institutionalization of art. A desire for a radical democratization of the production and reception of art, motivated D’Arcangelo’s critique of art institutions. His position as an artist was voiced in a statement on anarchism that accompanied, in various stenciled and typewritten forms, the majority of his actions and interventions. The statement, which contains an ellipsis between brackets in the place of an adjectival definition of anarchism, recalls the historical expression “anarchism without adjectives.”

In 1975, D’Arcangelo carried out a series of unauthorized, disruptive actions at New York’s major art museums, followed by similar actions at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena (1976) and at the Louvre in Paris (1978). Concurrently, and until his suicide in 1979, D’Arcangelo worked in collaboration with the artist Peter Nadin carrying out construction work in exhibition spaces and downtown loft spaces. Their work became the subject of a series of flyers in which the two artists subtly questioned the separation between their means of subsistence and their artistic practice. Each flyer detailed the amount of labor involved and the materials used, and extended an invitation to view the work. In September 1978, D’Arcangelo participated in a group exhibition at Artists Space, along with Louise Lawler, Cindy Sherman and Adrian Piper. His contribution consisted of exhibiting a series of texts, entitled Four Texts for Artists Space, in which he elucidated on the ideological conditions of the gallery’s status as an independent art space. As a conclusion to his analysis, he chose to withdraw his name from all material promoting the exhibition outside the gallery. A blank space in place of his name in the title and list of exhibiting artists formally indicated this erasure.

To date, no posthumous exhibition or critical evaluation of Christopher D’Arcangelo’s work has been undertaken. The written and visual documents which D’Arcangelo compiled over a five year period, in order to chronicle his practice, have recently been made available at the Fales Library & Special Collections, New York University, following a donation to the library’s “Downtown Collection” in 2009, by Cathy Weiner and the D’Arcangelo Family Partnership. Testifying to an artist engaged in a critique of the social conditions and repercussions of art, and whose work is accessible in archival form alone, represents a challenge to contemporary art history. It is this challenge, along with the paradoxes and critical complexities that D’Arcangelo’s work and legacy raises, that this exhibition will present and discuss.

Anarchism Without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979) will present a series of specially commissioned video interviews. Intended to form an oral history of the artist’s work and practice, the series includes interviews with artists and critics who worked directly with D’Arcangelo, or have addressed his work in retrospect. Contributors to this series include Stephen Antonakos, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Daniel Buren, Peter Nadin, Naomi Spector and Lawrence Weiner, amongst others. Alongside this oral archive, the exhibition will also include a work by Christopher Williams titled Bouquet for Bas Jan Ader and Christopher D’Arcangelo (1991), an installation that addresses both the resonances and the contradictions within the historical reception of conceptual art practices.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a program of lectures with contributions from artists, art historians and critics reevaluating the legacy of D’Arcangelo and his work, and the context in which it was produced.

October 6, 2011

Jeffrey Deitch & Jay Sanders in Conversation
Conversation
7pm

October 9, 2011

Claire Fontaine on "human strike"
Talk
7pm

October 12, 2011

Parasite
Discussion
7pm

October 22, 2011

The Whole of Troy is a Horse
Talk
3pm

A long rectangular wooden table supporting three television monitors facing outwards on different sides. Two small wooden seats with wired headphones resting on them are arranged in front of the leftmost monitor.
Anarchism Without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979). Installation view, Artists Space, 2011. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [A long rectangular wooden table supporting three television monitors facing outwards on different sides. Two small wooden seats with wired headphones resting on them are arranged in front of the leftmost monitor.]
A Samsung television monitor displaying Benjamin Buchloh, in a black sweater and thin rectangular glasses, being interviewed.
Anarchism Without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979). Installation view, Artists Space, 2011. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [A Samsung television monitor displaying Benjamin Buchloh, in a black sweater and thin rectangular glasses, being interviewed.]
A framed photograph displayed on a white wall. The photograph shows multicolored flowers laying on a white surface with a black background.
Anarchism Without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979). Installation view, Artists Space, 2011. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [A framed photograph displayed on a white wall. The photograph shows multicolored flowers laying on a white surface with a black background.]
A long rectangular wooden table with three TV monitors facing outwards on different sides. Six small wooden seats with wired headphones resting on them are arranged in front of the monitors. One visible screen displays an image of a man sitting at a table.
Anarchism Without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979). Installation view, Artists Space, 2011. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [A long rectangular wooden table with three TV monitors facing outwards on different sides. Six small wooden seats with wired headphones resting on them are arranged in front of the monitors. One visible screen displays an image of a man sitting at a table.]
A black monitor sits on a wooden table. The image onscreen shows a hand holding a black and white paper with text. A stack of photographs lay underneath the paper.
Anarchism Without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979). Installation view, Artists Space, 2011. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [A black monitor sits on a wooden table. The image onscreen shows a hand holding a black and white paper with text. A stack of photographs lay underneath the paper.]
Two black monitors facing opposite directions sit on a large, rectangular wooden table. One screen is visible, showing an image of two hands holding a piece of white paper with typed text. In the background, a framed photograph is installed on a white gallery wall.
Anarchism Without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979). Installation view, Artists Space, 2011. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [Two black monitors facing opposite directions sit on a large, rectangular wooden table. One screen is visible, showing an image of two hands holding a piece of white paper with typed text. In the background, a framed photograph is installed on a white gallery wall.]

Anarchism Without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo [1975-1979] Exhibition Booklet

Ochmanek, Annie. “Forcible Remove” Artforum. January, 2012. Print. 91-92.

The first iteration of this project was presented at the CAC Brétigny, France, in June. The exhibition at Artists Space will be followed by a third presentation in the fall at the Centro Cultural Montehermoso Kulturunea, Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain.

The video interviews were co-produced by Solang production Paris Brussels, Centro Cultural Montehermoso Kulturunea, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Centre d’art contemporain de Brétigny, in partnership with Artists Space, New York.

This project is supported by Étant donnés, the French-American Fund for Contemporary Art, a Program of FACE, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and The Friends of Artists Space.

With thanks to Cathy Weiner and the D'Arcangelo Family Partnership.

A separate exhibition, The Christopher D’Arcangelo Homage will take place at the Algus Greenspon Gallery, NY from October 15 –29, 2011.
The Christopher D’Arcangelo Homage will include 3 parts:

  1. The invited responses of viewers who visited the Christopher D’Arcangelo Papers at The Fales Library
  2. Facsimiles of the binder Christopher D’Arcangelo prepared to share documentation of his work.
  3. The responses of visitors to this exhibition.

The Christopher D’Arcangelo Papers can be viewed by appointment at the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University. More information here.

    Two people in the middle of a conversation. The woman is wearing a red cardigan, a white collared shirt, and has short gray hair with square black glasses. The man is wearing a checked blue and white collared shirt and has gray facial hair and round black glasses.
    Still from video interview with Naomi and Stephen Antonakos, conducted by Dean Inkster and Sébastien Pluot, 2010. [Two people in the middle of a conversation. The woman is wearing a red cardigan, a white collared shirt, and has short gray hair with square black glasses. The man is wearing a checked blue and white collared shirt and has gray facial hair and round black glasses.]