Grifting: The Third Mind
Jameson
Had I almost given up hope on the Palais De Tokyo?
No.
Would I not expect a show this amazing?
Oui.
The Third Mind, currently up at said museum is wonderful. Tres incroyable
There's more where that came from.
This is the first time that I feel very confident in grifting a group show. Included are some of my favorites: Cady Noland, Bruce Conner, TD, Emma Kunz (!), Andy Warhol, the Karen Kilimnik piece is a good one -- all with some vague connection to William S. Burroughs (who also has some stuff on walls). Bonjour!
Also, I presume that Joe Brainard's people stipulated this, but his room was lit in the most incredible fashion (like seamless backlit fabric, even and dull). I spent vingt minutes looking at the ceiling and listening to the wind. Vent fonce et fonce
A couple of days previous to experiencing this show I visited the Turner Prize Retrospective at the Tate (leaving town minutes before Frieze opened). That show was one of the most emo group things that I've been to. It is potentially this reason that The Third Mind is a breath of fresh air.
Ugo Rondinone, did you do this?
Truly, thank you.
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Update:
We went back there a couple of nights ago and revisited the room.
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Comments (6)
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quelle grift
Can you do a more detailed description of the lighting? Reconstructed diagrams? Seriously: can we go technical on the next one? Let's just talk about this seemingly important thing.
Okay, yes sure. You are the ultimate accountability partner, Steven. As you you're all too aware, I'm good at keeping things vague.
Here we go: Look at that image above (the third one in the blost). Notice how the ceiling is essentially the same color as the walls in that image? That is not how it looks in person, however, when photographed, the camera doesn't know what the fuck is going on because the light isn't coming from a true source. Or, if it is a true source, it is completely spread out.
So, essentially, one room at least 10 meters by 15 meters. The entire ceiling is a dim panel of fabric. Like a light-emitting fabric (which exists, right kate?). I don't think that is what was being used here. It definitely had an organic to it.
I think that there might have been various forms of bouncing neons on the other side of that fabric. I'll ask TD how they did it. I was in love with the mystery and how much the light in that room became the exhibition.
I've decided to do some research on Ugo as a result of all of this and because I'm here. I'll get to the bottom of it.
Flint, tu apprends le Français?
J'essaye. ???
I know this is late in the conversation, but let's talk about organic light emitting diodes. it's crazy. sheets of thin, flexible plastic that can emit color patterns so precise they could be your HD tv. or they can produce perfectly, eerily uniform light like above.
here's a nerdy quote:
A typical OLED lighting structure is composed of films of organic compounds and conductive layers sandwiched between two electrodes that provide positive and negative charges. When the two charges recombine in the organic layer, energy is given off in the form of photons, creating a patch of soft visible light. In theory, the efficiency of this energy conversion could reach 100 percent, researchers say.
(spectrum online)
but the author is probably right in saying that neon trickery was used. cheaper and more accessible. unless they have a hook-up in the OLED business.
electroluminescent sheets also a far-out possibility. they don't have to be that funny blue-green color like nightlights.