Artists Space

In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love

November 16 – December 22, 2006

Curated by Tanya Leighton, In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love takes the distinction that French critic Serge Daney made between the “image” and the “visual” as a starting point for a selection of works in this two-part exhibition.

A person stands in line to hold up a black and white photograph in front of a Super 8 camera, as two people are lined up behind him.
Jean-Luc Godard and Anne-Marie Miéville. Still from Lei et ailleurs (Here and Elsewhere), 1970/1976. 16mm film transferred to DVD, (sound, color and black and white), 60 min. Courtesy Contemporary Films, London. [A person stands in line to hold up a black and white photograph in front of a Super 8 camera, as two people are lined up behind him.]

In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love takes the distinction that French critic Serge Daney made between the “image” and the “visual” as a starting point for a selection of works in this two-part exhibition. Daney’s distinction refers to an “image” that can critically challenge and destabilize predominant models of information, resisting the “purely technical,” that which is nothing other than the verification that something functions. Through various strategies of dislocation or slippage, these works stage an unsettling tension that challenges visual conventions in an increasingly mediated culture.

Participating artists and filmmakers: Ayreen Anastas, Marcel Broodthaers, François Bucher, Matthew Buckingham, Bruce Conner, Bernadette Corporation, Jeremy Deller, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujica, Jean-Luc Godard and Anne-Marie Miéville, Sharon Hayes, Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson, Emily Jacir, Gareth James, Alexander Kluge, Phillip Lai, David Lamelas, Simon Martin, John Menick, Avi Mograbi, Lucas Ospina, Giulio Paolini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Mai-Thu Perret, Walid Raad, Jose Alejandro Restrepo, Marc Robinson, Keith Sanborn, Allan Sekula, John Smith, Sue Tompkins, and Andy Warhol.

The first part of this exhibition was an exhibition that was shown at Artists Space from November 16 - December 22, 2006; the second part, in the form of a film series, was hosted at Anthology Film Archives in January 2007.

January 8 – February 12, 2007

In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love
Film Series at Anthology Film Archives
Screenings

Several sculptures, video works, and models are installed in a gallery space with wooden flooring. Situated closest to the viewer is a geometric, white model installed in an acrylic box, which in turn is displayed on a large wooden table.
In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love. Installation view, Artists Space, 2006. Photo: Bill Orcutt. [Several sculptures, video works, and models are installed in a gallery space with wooden flooring. Situated closest to the viewer is a geometric, white model installed in an acrylic box, which in turn is displayed on a large wooden table.]
Two TV monitors installed in a gallery space with wooden flooring. One monitor is installed in the image
In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love. Installation view, Artists Space, 2006. Photo: Bill Orcutt. [Two TV monitors installed in a gallery space with wooden flooring. One monitor is installed in the image's foreground on a white plinth and displays an image of a figure walking along a sidewalk. The other monitor can be seen through a hallway at the image's center and is installed on the gallery wall. A third video plays on a gallery wall on the image's right side, showing an image of two hands.]
Several rectangular sheets of cream colored paper hang side-by-side on a gallery wall. The papers are arranged in clusters of three or more and appear blank, with faint creases visible on their surfaces.
In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love. Installation view, Artists Space, 2006. Photo: Bill Orcutt. [Several rectangular sheets of cream colored paper hang side-by-side on a gallery wall. The papers are arranged in clusters of three or more and appear blank, with faint creases visible on their surfaces.]
Four red bean bags are arranged on a gallery floor around four small tv monitors, each facing a different direction. The monitors are installed on a low, square plinth.
In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love. Installation view, Artists Space, 2006. Photo: Bill Orcutt. [Four red bean bags are arranged on a gallery floor around four small tv monitors, each facing a different direction. The monitors are installed on a low, square plinth.]
Three free-standing walls supporting a series of shelves are arranged at right angles around a pole in a gallery space. The shelves display a series of pieces of paper containing both images and text. The shelves are yellow, and a portion of the center of the column has also been painted yellow.
In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love. Installation view, Artists Space, 2006. Photo: Bill Orcutt. [Three free-standing walls supporting a series of shelves are arranged at right angles around a pole in a gallery space. The shelves display a series of pieces of paper containing both images and text. The shelves are yellow, and a portion of the center of the column has also been painted yellow.]
A video plays on a monitor installed on the wall of a gallery space. Two pairs of headphones attached to the monitor rest on a wooden bench facing the screen. The front pages of several newspapers are displayed on a gallery wall to the left of the monitor, while to the right, a paragraph of wall vinyl is installed on the lower half of the gallery wall.
In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love. Installation view, Artists Space, 2006. Photo: Bill Orcutt. [A video plays on a monitor installed on the wall of a gallery space. Two pairs of headphones attached to the monitor rest on a wooden bench facing the screen. The front pages of several newspapers are displayed on a gallery wall to the left of the monitor, while to the right, a paragraph of wall vinyl is installed on the lower half of the gallery wall.]
Two newspaper clippings and a sheet of written correspondence are installed in black frames on a gallery wall above a small vitrine. The vitrine displays a series of open, vintage magazines.
In The Poem About Love You Don't Write The Word Love. Installation view, Artists Space, 2006. Photo: Bill Orcutt. [Two newspaper clippings and a sheet of written correspondence are installed in black frames on a gallery wall above a small vitrine. The vitrine displays a series of open, vintage magazines.]
    Stacks of labeled VHS tapes of varying heights arranged against a white wall.
    Sharon Hayes, Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), 2002. [Stacks of labeled VHS tapes of varying heights arranged against a white wall.]