Sparkle Labels For Gallery Binder

0100101110101101.org United We Stand, 2005 Digital poster and light-box frame Courtesy of Postmasters Gallery, New York, and the artists The Spanish team of Eva and Franco Mattes who work under the name 0100101110101101.org have earned an international reputation as art world provocateurs. They seek to upend traditional notions of art and the viewing experience by dissolving the strict boundaries between formal institutions such as museums and immediate, real-world experiences. United We Stand is a full-fledged advertising campaign for a Hollywood-style action movie that exists only in the artists’s imagination. The artists use the concept of “viral marketing” to insert their artwork in the popular imagination. The fictitious project’s posters and advertisements flow seamlessly into the daily flood of information and images. By appropriating the glamour and seductive qualities represented by actors such as Penelope Cruz and Ewan McGregor, 0100101110101101.org hopes to prompt questions about the fleeting nature of celebrity and the rapidly changing sense of European

unity. Franco Mattes explains the plot of the movie: “The screenplay of the movie is about the European president—a very handsome and charming guy—who immediately calls for a task force: five highly-trained specialists known as the German, the Italian, the Spanish, and the French guy. This task force has the mission to avoid the global war between China and the USA without brutal force. European Style!”

assume vivid astro focus Pills & Cigarettes, 2004 Single channel video, 15 minutes No. 5 from an edition of 10 Collection of Ben and Aileen Krohn assume vivid astro focus Freebird, 2002 Single channel video, 4 minutes No. 4 from an edition of 10 Collection of Ben and Aileen Krohn The two videos are played in a continuous loop. The music for Pills & Cigarettes is Walking on Thin Ice, sung by Yoko Ono, and the music for Freebird is an adaptation of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird.

“Our strategy is pleasure—we want to give the people visiting the museum a taste of their own pleasure,” declares the collaborative team known as assume vivid astro focus (avaf). This goal aligns avaf with the imagery of ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints. Although separated by more than a century and vast cultural differences, both the Japanese prints and the avaf video highlight the feelings, images, and pleasures of their respective contemporary worlds. They are also connected by a belief that the pleasures are fleeting and must be enjoyed before they disappear. avaf churns through imagery from all cultures and time periods and creates spectacularly colored and vibrantly exuberant work. The group has developed a profound ability to celebrate the joyous aspects of the world while simultaneously subverting culturally engrained notions as diverse as “fine art” and gender norms. They link these images and ideas through groovy sound, a simple graphic look, and breathtaking editing. Their work seeks to unify the visual experience and impact of dance clubs, graffiti street culture, Asian animation, and strains of optimism from 1970s popular culture.

Iris Bodemer (born Paderborn, Germany, 1970) Untitled, 2000 Gold, tourmaline, smokey quartz, rubber, wool Collection of Sharon M. Campbell Iris Bodemer has earned a reputation for her highly refined and sophisticated works that are at the forefront of new European design. Her works challenge traditional notions of preciousness and beauty by incorporating semi-precious gemstones and pearls with both traditional metal settings and unexpectedly simple knots. Bodemer approaches each of her neckpieces as a drawing or sketch. She carefully composes her works to create a dynamic sense of symmetry on the basis of textures, forms, and visual impact.

Lola Brooks (born Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1969) Rose Cut Neckpiece, 2006 Stainless steel, 18 karat gold, rose-cut smoky quartz Courtesy of Sienna Gallery, Lenox, Massachusetts, and the artist Lola Brooks views her work as an effort to understand how people use jewelry as symbols of taste and wealth. Working in an unexpectedly large scale, her works suggest traditional conventions of fashion jewelry, reinforcing ideas about glamour and status, while simultaneously undermining those expectations. Brooks also has a strong preference for stainless steel, an industrial material unusual in fashion jewelry.

Jack Daws (born Stab, Kentucky, 1970) Anywhere But Here, 2003 Gumball machine with various pharmaceuticals Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Shari and John Behnke and Rebecca and Alexander Stewart Jack Daws’s sculpture Anywhere But Here addresses the American fascination with psychotropic drugs. The artist collected prescription drugs from his friends and family to illustrate the wide availability of the drugs and how prevalent they have become for average people. He points to the easy availability of these mind-altering drugs by placing them in a gumball machine. This gesture creates an unsettling metaphor of the drugs as candy and his title alludes to the cultural expectations that these drugs can solve almost all personal problems.

Kathryn van Dyke (born Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1957) Knowing You, Knowing Me, 2001 Mirrors and monofilament Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ben and Aileen Krohn Using hundreds of small mirrors, Kathryn van Dyke deliberately fragments the viewer’s perception of himself or herself and distorts their ability to make sense of the physical space outside of the installation. Because of the seemingly countless number of reflections, the viewer is unable to comprehend a single, unified image. Van Dyke’s fragmentation serves as a reminder of the complexity of each individual’s psychological makeup. Her mirrored environment also emphasizes how quickly perceptions of ourselves can change as we move from one moment and place to the next.

Anya Gallaccio (born Paisley, Scotland, 1963) Even So, 2003 Bronze and glass Collection of Rebecca and Alexander Stewart Anya Gallaccio first received international critical acclaim for her installations of decaying organic materials such as flowers and fruits. Broadly labeled as an “environmental artist” because of her chosen materials, Gallaccio focuses on the metaphor of natural cycles as a tender reminder of the fragility and flux of human existence. She also translates this metaphor into lasting works in bronze and glass. The melancholy Even So suggests a quiet defiance or a verbal nudge to reconsider. The sparse imagery also suggests a sublime moment: seeds of the previous summer preserved and waiting for the next cycle of growth. This visual cue hints at the power of “even so” in a conversation.

Monique van Genderen (born Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1965) “…a fondness for fairytales and a love of cash…” part II, 2007 Enamel and latex paint and vinyl on wall Courtesy of The Happy Lion Gallery, Los Angeles, Howard House Contemporary Art, Seattle, and the artist Monique van Genderen considers herself a romantic painter. Her ethereal imagery and otherworldly materials evoke places found only in dreams. In this installation, van Genderen uses the seductive and inky blue/black surface on the smaller wall to reflect the amorphous shapes that cover the second wall. She uses these two walls as tools to create the actual work of art: the reflections that hover in a pictorial illusion that has no physical boundaries. This interplay between reflection and color suspends the belief in the tangible world in the same way that fairytales transcend both truth and fiction.

Jim Hodges (born Spokane, Washington, 1957) Coming Through, 1999 Light bulbs with ceramic sockets, mounted on wood and metal in two parts Collection of Rebecca and Alexander Stewart From its rigorous formal arrangements to its use of consumer goods, Jim Hodges’s Coming Through has a strong affinity with minimalist art of the 1960s and 1970s as well as the work of later artists such as Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996). Hodges’s work expands the expressive potential of simple elements to convey multiple metaphors about memory, loss, perfection, and desire. The light bulbs illuminate the gallery, generate some degree of warmth, and cast shadows. The visual impact of Coming Through is never stable as the viewer’s physical distance from the art changes. The interaction between light and viewer serves as a subtle reminder of the ephemeral nature of memory and experience.

Oliver Herring (born Heidelberg, Germany, 1964) Big Round Flat, 2001 Reflective Mylar, parachute nylon, and Styrofoam Courtesy of Max Protetch Gallery, New York, and the artist Oliver Herring created a series of hand-knitted sculptures as an homage to his friend and renowned performance artist Ethyl Eichelberger (James Roy Eichelberger, 1945– 1990), including Big Round Flat. Ethyl Eichelberger was an important figure in New York’s “Downtown Scene” in the 1980s and was a member of the Ridiculous Theater Company. He was celebrated for his skill as a performer and his talents as an actor. In his most renowned roles, Eichelberger played multiple characters of various genders simultaneously, fluidly shifting from one character to the next. To honor his friend, Herring meticulously knitted the sculpture with Mylar as a reminder of Eichelberger’s brilliant and sparkling talent.

Mary Lee Hu (born Lakewood, Ohio, 1943) Choker #83, 2000 22-karat and 18-karat gold Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Rotasa Foundation, Friends of Jewelry, and Ramona Solberg Endowment For thousands of years and across all cultures, humans have been fascinated with gold. The soft metal continues to be prized for its rarity, purity, malleability, and reflective qualities. The extraordinary beauty of Choker #83 comes from Mary Lee Hu’s understanding of this history, her precision as an artist, and her refined aesthetic. Twisting and weaving thin gold wire, Hu evokes two types of body adornment, both a traditional necklace and an undulating, frozen ribbon. The flowing golden lines capture a perfect moment in sparkling splendor.

Jeff Koons (born York, Pennsylvania, 1955) Inflatable Balloon Flower (Yellow), 1997– 2000 PVC, no. 50 from an edition of 51 Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Jeff Koons creates artwork that deliberately draws on notions of kitsch and often engages in the spectacle of the ridiculous. He typically selects a banal item, such as a balloon flower, and increases its scale to monumental proportions. Because he isolates the item in a gallery or museum context, the sculpture becomes a statement about art, preciousness, and cultural impact. By focusing on the artificiality and throw-away qualities of a balloon flower, Koons challenges many of the underlying assumptions of permanence and value in the art world.

Glenn Ligon (born Bronx, New York, 1960) Conclusion, 2004 Coal dust and oil stick on canvas Courtesy of Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, and the artist In 1993, Glenn Ligon began a series of monochromatic text paintings based on writings about the African-American experience. He appropriated texts from distinguished authors such as James Baldwin (1924–1987) and Zora Neale Hurston (1891– 1960). He distilled his understanding of these writings to resonate with his personal experience as an African-American. By creating the letters in black paint and slightly coating them with a layer of shimmering coal dust, Ligon offers a visual equivalent for feelings of invisibility. The darkness of the paint and the brilliance of the coal dust evoke the “blackness” of his experience, both his skin color and his self-perception as an AfricanAmerican. In his later works, including Conclusion, Ligon made the text nearly incomprehensible to accentuate the emotional impact of his frustrations.

Josiah McElheny (born Boston, Massachusetts, 1966) Possible Mirrors, 2002 Four French-polished, ebonized wood panels and four mirrored, engraved crystal glass panels Courtesy of Donald Young Gallery, Chicago, and the artist With this work, Josiah McElheny grapples with the potential meanings and metaphors of mirrors as understood by the Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986). Borges wrote that mirrors not only reflected the most superficial aspects of the physical world but also doubled the number of images, further alienating an individual from authentic feelings and experience. McElheny’s Possible Mirrors provides a visual equivalent. The highly polished black wood creates reflections even though the color black absorbs all light and color. Similarly, etched lines across the entire surface of each mirror obscure any perfect reflection.

Marilyn Minter (born Shreveport, Louisiana, 1948) Cat’s Cradle, 2006 C-print, no. 1 from an edition of 5 Courtesy of Salon 94, New York, and the artist Marilyn Minter (born Shreveport, Louisiana, 1948) Blue Tears, 2004 C-print, no. 2 from an edition of 5 Courtesy of Salon 94, New York, and the artist Marilyn Minter (born Shreveport, Louisiana, 1948) More Spots, 2005 C-print, no. 4 from an edition of 5 Courtesy of Salon 94, New York, and the artist For more than 20 years, Marilyn Minter has created provocative images that explore ideas of feminine beauty and perfection. Mimicking conventions of feminine glamour as produced by movies, television, and advertising, Minter subverts these images by emphasizing the impossibility of becoming a picture-perfect woman. In these images, Minter focuses on smeared lipstick, plastic fingernails, freckles,

and wet hair. Her photographs raise profound questions about society’s lust for the “perfect woman” and the costs to each woman if she tries to force herself into a narrowly defined stereotype.

Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas, 1955) What Barbara Jordan Wore (The Public, The Committee, Ms. Jordan), 2002 Installation of oil and enamel on linen with video projection Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Restricted gift of Nancy A. Lauter and Alfred L. McDougal, Judith Neisser, Barbara and Thomas Ruben, Faye and Victor Morgenstern Family Foundation, and Ruth Horwich Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas, 1955) What Barbara Jordan Wore #3, 2001 Oil on linen Collection of Rebecca and Alexander Stewart Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas, 1955) Lot 011603 (e), 2003 Oil on linen Collection of Rebecca and Alexander Stewart Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas, 1955)

Lot 081103 (r), 2003 Oil on linen Collection of Rebecca and Alexander Stewart

Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas, 1955) Texas, 1967, 2001 C-print and wood frame, from an edition of 3 Courtesy of Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco, and the artist Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas, 1955) Texas, 1969, 2001 C-print and wood frame, from an edition of 3 Courtesy of Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco, and the artist Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas, 1955) Texas, 1971, 2001 C-print and wood frame, from an edition of 3 Courtesy of Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco, and the artist Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas, 1955) Lot 040202, 2002 Oil and enamel on linen Collection of Sally and Jonathan Kovler

Donald Moffett created the series of paintings and prints What Barbara Jordan Wore to honor the accomplishments and dignity of the political and civil rights leader Barbara Jordan. Jordan (1936–1996) served in the Texas State legislature from 1962 until her election to the Unites States House of Representatives in 1972. Jordan’s distinguished legislative accomplishments include the renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. She is best remembered for her nationally televised speech to the House Judiciary Committee supporting the impeachment of Richard Nixon in 1974. Her august and unwavering voice articulated the deep seriousness of Nixon’s breech of the nation’s trust and laws. Moffett distills the strength and powerful presence of Barbara Jordan by creating a multifaceted portrait. The title What Barbara Jordan Wore alludes to her charisma and compelling character rather than her choice of clothing. The sparkling paints and flickering video provides a metaphor for the importance of Jordan as a politician and civil rights leader. The singularity of each part of the installation, whether the monochromatic paint or the enlarged class portraits or the video

projections, reinforces the power of Jordan’s personal convictions. Uniting the entire group is a recording of Jordan’s celebrated speech to the House Judiciary Committee.

What Barbara Jordan Wore was originally presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, in 2002, curated by Elizabeth Smith. Tacoma Art Museum would like to thank the Museum of Contemporary Art, Anthony Meier Fine Art, San Francisco, and the artist for their support and assistance in assembling these works.

James Rosenquist (born Grand Forks, North Dakota, 1933) Gift-Wrapped Doll #14, 1992 Oil on canvas Promised gift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum James Rosenquist began his series of paintings Serenade for the Doll after Claude Debussy or Gift-Wrapped Dolls for his young daughter. This romantic title reveals the inspiration Rosenquist took from the French composer, who wrote a series of small works for his own daughter. Rosenquist wrapped a number of generic dolls in plastic wrap and made close-up photographs of them. He then translated his photographs into large-scale paintings highlighting the play of light across the plastic. The plastic membrane that separates and covers the doll symbolizes his fears and hopes for his daughter’s future. The glimmering colors also suggest the packaging of a new toy, a barrier keeping the doll safe and untouched.

Alex Schweder (born New York City, New York, 1970) Jealous Poche, 2004 Digital video, 7 minutes, 30 seconds Tacoma Art Museum, Anonymous gift The architectural term poche (also poché) refers to the empty space between the arc of a curving wall of an interior room and the corners of the perpendicular walls of the supporting, outer structure. Alex Schweder is fascinated by this unseen area and seeks to find parallels between this architectural space and the hidden areas of both the human body and of psychological spaces. To represent this idea, video monitors are mounted at varying depths within the curve of the walls, and the changing colors of the video entice viewers to ponder the idea of movement through interior depths.

Alex Schweder (born New York City, New York, 1970) Still-life of Beefsteak and Cheese, 2004 Paper, ink, and scented varnish Courtesy of Howard House Contemporary Art, Seattle, and the artist For the installation of Jealous Poche, Alex Schweder created an elegantly curving volume based on the floor plan of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Sant’Andrea Al Quirinale, a small Roman church completed in 1678 and celebrated as an architectural masterpiece. Because American architecture rarely incorporates curvilinear spaces, Schweder wanted to compound the impact of his unusual installation by triggering other senses. The brilliant colors and scratch-and-sniff feature of the wallpaper emphasizes how architects desire to activate all of the senses. Interestingly, Schweder plays with his viewer’s perception by incorporating the aroma of jelly donuts rather than steak sandwiches.

Verena Sieber-Fuchs (born Appenzell, Switzerland, 1943) Toxicomanie [Drug-Addiction], 1992 Recycled, plastic, blister packaging for pharmaceuticals and nylon monofilament Collection of Nancy Worden Verena Sieber-Fuchs uses discarded and ephemeral materials to create jewelry that addresses complicated social issues. In Toxicomanie (“Drug Addiction”), Sieber-Fuchs creates a large-scale collar from discarded pill packages as a metaphor for the heavy burden of drug dependence. The silver and transparent plastic from hundreds of these containers suggests the glimmer of diamonds and crystals. Her neckpiece finds metaphorical parallels between the beauty of gemstones and the seductive qualities of drugs in society. For the wearer of this neckpiece, the consequences of addiction quickly become apparent: the edges of the packets scratch and the size of the collar overwhelms the shoulders and neck.

Jeffrey Simmons (born Cincinnati, Ohio, 1968) Scatter and Amass, 2007 Alkyd and urethane resin on canvas over panel Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, and the artist Jeffrey Simmons (born Cincinnati, Ohio, 1968) Flux, 2002 Alkyd, Mylar, and epoxy resin on canvas over wood panel Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of David Lewis in honor of Dr. Gregory Lewis, Nancy Cole, and Delbert Lewis Jeffrey Simmons’s meticulous paintings meld various traditions in abstract painting from the hard-edged abstractions of early modernists to op art of the 1960s. Simmons’s primary interest is the optical relationships of carefullychosen color combinations. By using a base layer of reflective Mylar, Simmons heightens these effects. As the viewer moves about the gallery, the painted imagery appears to shift and glisten. The apparent changes in the

painting’s imagery are an optical illusion made possible by the reflective Mylar.

Marc Swanson (born New Britain, Connecticut, 1969) Fits and Starts, 2004 Crystals, polyurethane foam, and adhesive Collection of DePauw University, Gift of the Butler Family Foundation Marc Swanson often uses forest imagery as a reference to his childhood experiences in New Hampshire. By encrusting a fleeing deer in brilliant crystals, Swanson’s Fits and Starts melds his childhood memories with his adult identity. The artist’s provocative hybrid of the natural and the artificial is accentuated by the multi-colored flashes of the white crystals. With this combination of two radically different symbols of beauty—an image of an untamed deer in the wild and a highly polished and unnatural arrangement of cut crystals— Swanson highlights the multi-faceted aspects of desire and identity. The expensive crystals can be read as a symbol of the allure and sophistication of his adult urban life and the accumulation of ideas about art and beauty.

Andy Warhol (born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1928) Howdy Doody from The Myths, 1981 Screenprint with diamond dust Collection of Jim, Melinda, Hallie, and Jake Riswold Andy Warhol (born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1928) Santa Claus from The Myths, 1981 Screenprint with diamond dust Collection of Jim, Melinda, Hallie, and Jake Riswold Andy Warhol (born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1928) The Witch from The Myths, 1981 Screenprint with diamond dust Collection of Jim, Melinda, Hallie, and Jake Riswold Andy Warhol (born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1928) Uncle Sam from The Myths, 1981 Screenprint with diamond dust

Collection of Jim, Melinda, Hallie, and Jake Riswold

In his 1981 series The Myths, Andy Warhol continued his exploration of American popular culture. Throughout his career, Warhol worked primarily with the likenesses of living icons, notably Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. For the images in The Myths, however, Warhol focused on fictional characters. Imaginary figures such as Santa Claus, Uncle Sam, Howdy Doody, and the Wicked Witch of the West play significant roles in American identity. The essence of these characters fascinated Warhol: the patriotism embodied by Uncle Sam; the good and evil of Howdy Doody and the wicked witch; and the generosity and magic of Santa Claus. Warhol’s thin coating of diamond dust provides a tangible layer of glimmering substance, akin to the character’s cultural value.

Alice Wheeler (born Kansas City, Missouri, 1961) Kurt Cobain (glasses) at MTV’s Live & Loud Pier 63 Seattle Dec. 13, 1993, 1993 Inkjet print Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, and the artist Alice Wheeler (born Kansas City, Missouri, 1961) Revolution Grrrl Style Now, Bikini Kill at the X-Ray Café, Portland, Oregon, 1993, printed 2007 Inkjet print Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, and the artist These two images by Alice Wheeler from 1993 encapsulate the glamour and passion of the Northwest’s alternative music scene. In both pictures, dramatic lighting symbolizes their status as “rock stars.” Wheeler’s image of Kurt Cobain captures the mystique of a celebrity at the pinnacle of his international fame. The glittering tinsel and plastic glasses provide a veneer that hid signs of Cobain’s impending psychological collapse. The stage lights of the

Bikini Kill performance illuminate the skills of each musician. A turn of phrase will forever link Cobain and Kathleen Hanna (one of the co-founders of Bikini Kill). Hanna once scrawled the phrase “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit.” Taking the enigmatic phrase, he wrote the song Smells Like Teen Spirit. This teen anthem symbolizes the anxiety, cynicism, and ambiguity of the early 1990s. Today, it is remembered fondly as one of the most influential songs in American popular music. With hindsight, this pair provides a startling contrast in the desire for fame and fortune. Cobain’s untimely death in 1994 cemented his image as a symbol of the angst of Generation X. His suicide also offers a reminder of the extreme costs of celebrity. The band Bikini Kill denounced celebrity and fortune in favor of the purity of their artistic vision. However fleeting, celebrity and fame slowly fade.

Alice Wheeler (born Kansas City, Missouri, 1961) Apple Blossom Queen at the Daffodil Parade, Tacoma 2003, 2006 Chromogenic print, from an edition of 3 Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, and the artist In addition to her career as a journalistic photographer, Alice Wheeler also seeks to make photographs that capture the essence of American culture. Like her photographs of the grunge and riot grrrl music scenes, Wheeler views the Northwest landscape and people through her punk-influenced aesthetic. Her photographs are often unsettling and preserve idiosyncratic moments that teeter on the surreal. In this scene of the activity just before the Daffodil Parade began, Wheeler noticed the conversation between the Apple Blossom princesses and queen and the military official. Despite their outward appearance as symbols of hyper-masculinity and hyper-femininity, these four individuals were participating in a time-honored tradition of the south Puget Sound region. Wheeler delights in the juxtaposition of the rhinestone tiaras and the firepower of the jeep-mounted weaponry.

Claude Zervas (born Bellingham, Washington, 1963) Forest #3.5, 2005 Digital projection: single channel computer algorithm, 4 minute cycle, continuous digital photograph, Java program, computer, and projector Tacoma Art Museum, Purchased with funds from Bill and Ruth True, Josef Vascovitz, and Dawn Zervas This digital projection is based on a single highresolution digital photograph of a forest clearing in the North Cascade Mountains. Claude Zervas wrote an algorithm to dissolve and reconstitute his digital snapshot. Due to the nature of the mathematical formula, it is a virtual impossibility that a viewer will see the same sequence of pixels twice. The resulting images allude to the beauty and forms of the great stained glass windows of medieval Europe. This reference ties into the notion of the Western landscape as a “cathedral in the wilderness” which supported the doctrine of westward expansion in the 19th century. By employing advanced computer technology, Zervas emphasizes the shifting relationship between computer technologies and environmental awareness.