Dave Eggers, Jesse Nathan, and Jordan Bass have organized Lots of Things Like This, a show that opens tonight at Apexart. Here’s an excerpt from Dave Egger’s amusing curatorial statement. “Being loathe to draw conclusions about the artists� motivations or methods, because, again, so many of these people are dead, we�re instead going to list some questions that occurred to us and might occur to you and might help the show blow your mind completely:
“Why is it that so many of these artists aren�t so great at spelling? And why is it that when they screw up one of their words, instead of starting over, they just cross the word out and write it again? Many people would choose to start over.
“Why is it important to many of the artists that the drawings appear casual, even rushed? Is the loose draftsmanship part of its appeal, in that it seems more intimate and disarming? Is absurdity more appealing when it comes across as humble?
“What is the line between a doodle, a cartoon, a gag, a work of fine art, and will there ever be a time when someone doesn�t insist on writing a similar kind of silly and rhetorical sentence in an art catalog? In some cases does it seem that the artist is defacing his or her own work by adding the text? That�s partly why we included the Duchamp / Mona Lisa experiment and the Goya � in both cases the words are a lighthearted comment on a finished or abandoned image. Sorry, that�s not really a question. Moving on…” Read more.“
“Lots of Things Like This” organized by Dave Eggers. Apexart, New York, NY. Through May 10.
