January 24 - April 22, 2012

IT'S THE POLITICAL ECONOMY, STUPID

Austrian Cultural Forum New York

Artists: Linda BILDA, Julia CHRISTENSEN, Yevgeniy FIKS / Olga KOPENKINA / Alexandra LERMAN, FLO6x8, Melanie GILLIGAN, Jan Peter HAMMER, Alicia HERRERO, INSTITUTE FOR WISHFUL THINKING, Zanny BEGG / Oliver RESSLER, Isa ROSENBERGER, Dread SCOTT

About The Show

The economic crisis that we face today has also become a major crisis for representative democracy. The very idea of the modern nation state is in jeopardy as the deterritorialized flow of finance capital melts down all that was once solid into raw material for market speculation. It is the social order itself, and the very notion of governance with its archaic promise of security and happiness that has become another kind of modern ruin.

It’s the Political Economy, Stupid brings together an international group of artists who focus on the current crisis in a sustained and critical manner. Rather than acquiesce to the current calamity, this exhibition asks if it is not time to push back against the disciplinary dictates of the capitalist logic and, by use of artistic means, launch a rescue of the very notion of the social itself.

The Austrian Cultural Forum New York is pleased to present this new group exhibition which was curated by the Austrian-American team of Oliver Ressler and Gregory Sholette. The show derives its title from the slogan which in the early 1990s came to define then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s campaign, “It’s the economy, stupid”.

Press Quotes

In the wake of the capitalist crisis, very few cultural institutions have dared to address the horrors of greed that plague us in such a direct and haunting way as the Austrian Cultural Forum.” – Alexander Cavaluzzo, Hyperallergic.com, Feb. 13, 2012

“Curated by Gregory Sholette and Oliver Ressler, this is a good old political exhibition, full of sarcasm, hope, protest, and information.” – William Corwin, Saatchi Online Magazine, Feb. 21, 2012

confrontational, intellectual, and occasionally amusing group show, which squarely aligns itself with the Occupy movement.” – Robert Shuster, The Village Voice, Feb. 8, 2012

“Curated by Oliver Ressler and Gregory Sholette, this is a smart exhibition that I suspect will be preaching to the converted, but in style.  […]  This is the gallery version of Occupy Wall Street.” – Andrea Kirsh, Feb. 14, 2012, theartblog.org

Visible from the sidewalk on a block that the Austrian Cultural Forum shares with Cartier, Ferragamo and Tourneau, the work [by Dread Scott] affirms a disheartening truth about the cultural mindset this well-curated exhibition aims to critique: many would prefer to see their money burn than have it distributed equitably.” –David Markus, Art in America, Mar. 28, 2012

“Ressler’s and Sholette’s show does indeed achieve its objectives, occupying the Austrian Cultural Forum through a diverse range of artworks stemming from the 2008 crisis of finance capitalism. It does so principally by drawing together a selection of works which both educate and entertain, offering invaluable information and welcome critical reflection.” – Thom Donovan, Art:21 Blog, Apr. 16, 2012

Images

Exhibition poster
design by Ahoystudios.com

ACFNY Gallery Views
Photo by David Plakke

Linda BILDA
The Future and End of the Golden World (2011)
Wall mural
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist
Installation View at the ACFNY
Photo by David Plakke

Linda BILDA
Labor and Capital (2004)
Sculpture
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist
Installation View at the ACFNY
Photo by ACFNY

Julia CHRISTENSEN
How Communities Are Reusing the Big Box (2003 – present)
Slide show
Courtesy of the artist

Zanny BEGG / Oliver RESSLER
Still from The Bull Laid Bear (2012)
Video
24 min
Courtesy of the artists

Yevgeniy FIKS / Olga KOPENKINA / Alexandra LERMAN
Reading Lenin with Corporations (2011/2012)
Video
60 min
Courtesy of Reading Lenin with Corporations, since 2008

flo6x8
Body Versus Capital (2011)
Video
40 min
Courtesy of Camping Productions & anticapitalist flamenco group flo6x8, Seville, Spain

Melanie GILLIGAN
Still from Crisis in the Credit System (2008)
Video, four episodes
37 min
Courtesy of the artist

Jan Peter HAMMER
Still from The Anarchist Banker (2010)
Video
30 min
Courtesy of Supportico Lopez Gallery, Berlin, Germany

Alicia HERRERO
Still from Bank: Art & Economies (2011)
Video
40 min
Courtesy of the artist

INSTITUTE FOR WISHFUL THINKING
Post-Fordist Variations (2011)
Mixed media
Courtesy of the artists
Installation View at the ACFNY
Photo by David Plakke

INSTITUTE FOR WISHFUL THINKING / TOMMY MINTZ
Post-Fordist Variations (2011)
Mixed media
Courtesy of the artists
Installation View at the ACFNY
Photo by ACFNY

Isa ROSENBERGER
Still from Espiral – A Dance of Death in 8 Scenes (2010/11)
Video installation and photographs
11 min
Courtesy of the artist
Photo by Ovidiu Anton

Isa ROSENBERGER
Espiral – A Dance of Death in 8 Scenes (2010/11)
Video installation and photographs
11 min
Courtesy of the artist
Installation view at the ACFNY
Photo by David Plakke

Dread SCOTT
Still from Money to Burn (2010)
Video
3:28 min
Courtesy of the artist

Press Release

Press Release (German)

Credits

Curators Oliver Ressler and Gregory Sholette
Exhibition Coordination Natascha Boojar

Exhibition Assistants Georg Bauer, Sabine Paukner, Marlene Rutzendorfer, Antonia Zippermayr

Supporting Institutions of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York: RB International Finance (USA) LLC, Zumtobel

Tue ‒ Thu: 09am ‒ 07pm
Fri ‒ Mon: 09am ‒ 05pm

Adults: $25
Children & Students free

673 12 Constitution Lane Massillon
781-562-9355, 781-727-6090