Influence, Anxiety, and Gratitude

Curator: Bill Arning

Opening Reception: Friday, May 9, 5:30 - 7:30PM

Opening Events: Saturday, May 10

2:30PM, Hayden Gallery
Performance: General Idea/AA Bronson:Triple XXX Rose

3:30PM,in the galleries
Artist Talk: Simon Leung Rethinking Marcel Duchamp

2 - 6PM, Hayden Gallery
Performance: Stuart Netsky: Mile Long Drawing/Muffler (after DeMaria)

Influence, Anxiety, and Gratitude features the work of over twenty international artists in all mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, and performance. These artists conspicuously make references to other works of art in order to interrogate the often-problematic relationship of today's artists to the tradition from which they spring. These artists wish to better understand the true nature of art production, the writing of art-cultural histories, the formation and reformulations of canons, the imperative of creative acts, and the succession of art acts over time.

Influence was a standard way of understanding art and creative acts that today has fallen into disfavor as an interpretive tool. Seen as romantic and imprecise, influence is deemed too tied to biography and too prone to reinforcing the patriarchy and values of the master narrative. Influence, Anxiety, and Gratitude seeks to reconsider the concept of influence as it functions in an art world of diverse practices and parishioners who work in a multitude of locations and mediums. By examining how artists choose to acknowledge their forerunners, and how these artists choose to position their work in relationship to their chosen sources, Influence, Anxiety, and Gratitude will reveal reasons behind the ongoing desire to create work with a comprehensible past and a rich pool of associations, leading to an ongoing future dialogue of inexhaustible potential.

Artist list: Matthew Antezzo, Marco Arce, Michael Blum, Jennifer Bolande, Carol Bove, Tacita Dean, Jessica Diamond, Frank Egloff, General Idea / AA Bronson, Luis Gispert, GranFury, Richard Hamilton, Danny Hobart, Michael Hurson, Deborah Kass, Rachel Lachowicz, Sean Landers, Simon Leung, Sherrie Levine, Glenn Ligon, Matts Leiderstam, Melanie Manchot, Matt Marello, Marlene McCarty, Paul McCarthy and Mike Kelley, Yasumasa Morimura, Stuart Netsky, John O'Reilly, Henrik Olesen, Clifford Owens, Elaine Reichek, Emily Roysdon, and Sturtevant.

An online catalog will be available at http://web.mit.edu/lvac

Influence, Anxiety & Gratitude is made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Council for the Arts at MIT, the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Embassy of Sweden, the Edward and Marjorie Goldberger Foundation, the American-Scandinavian Foundation, the Canadian Consulate General in Boston, IASPIS, the Boston Cyberarts Festival and The Boston Phoenix.

This presentation is part of the Boston Cyberarts Festival, 2003.

[press release]

[PDF Brochure: Outside]

[PDF Brochure: Inside]

Yasumasa Morimura,
To my little sister: Cindy Sherman,
1998, photograph.
Courtesy of the artist.

Jennifer Bolande,
Milk Crown, 1987, porcelain.
Courtesy of the artist.

Deborah Kass,
Silver Deb, 2000,
silkscreen ink and acrylic on canvas.
Courtesy of the artist.