Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 22:46:14 -0500 Subject: Cornell DeWitt Gallery From: The Art Guys <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
PLEASE JOIN US:
The Art GuYs "What's The Big Idea?"
September 4 through October 4, 2003
Reception: Thursday, September 4, 6 to 8pm
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Cornell DeWitt Gallery
Contact: Cornell DeWitt 521 W 26 St New York, NY 10001 t: 212 695 6845 f: 212 695 6872 e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] gallery hours: Tues through Sat, 11-6 ____________________
A Sunday in April 1984. Nationwide, various "Blue Laws" are in effect. On the steps of City Hall in Houston, Texas, Mike Galbreth and Jack Massing sell to each other nails, bed sheets, and a fetching pair of cowboy boots, in direct violation of some of Houston's more arcane statutes. With "Blue Sunday" (1984), THE ART GUYS have committed their first Art Crime. Nearly twenty years later, THE ART GUYS bring another round of what many would still consider art crimes to New York City for "What's The Big Idea?" - their second two-man show at Cornell DeWitt Gallery.
Reveling in and incisively dissecting crass commercialism and pop culture, The Art Guys have been described in the New York Times as "a cross between Dada, David Letterman, John Cage and the Smothers Brothers". As the court jesters of the postmodern age, The Art Guys present a blend of performance, conceptual and visual art that explores the absurdities of contemporary life and pokes fun at the art world.
In this exhibition of new works, The Art Guys remain true to form by playfully employing high technology in low-brow fashion. As with many of their shows, humor rules the day with deceptively simple ruminations - an array of quirky new pieces employ an unexpected exploration of various sophisticated technologies. "What's The Big Idea?" will feature video, video sculpture, computer drawings, sound sculpture and other works of modest technical wizardry.
Although perhaps best known for their conceptual and performance works, throughout their twenty year collaboration, The Art Guys have
in fact experimented with all forms of high technology including video, video sculpture and installations, computers, computer generated sound sculpture, computer drawings, and even radios, telephones, water buckets and by golly the list goes on and on. At present, they are working on two massive commissions for the George H. W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. One, an array of hundreds of computer-controlled glowing suitcases, covers an area of two football fields and will be the largest public art installation in the state of Texas.
The Art Guys (Michael Galbreth and Jack Massing) met at the University of Houston in 1982 and continue to live and work in Houston. They have been featured in countless solo and group shows at galleries and museums throughout the country and, in addition,
their unique performances and events have been held at locations ranging from a Krispy Kreme store in Houston to a catwalk in Times Square. In 1995 they were the subjects of a mid-career retrospective at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston. Recently, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston purchased and displayed the suits, documentation, ephemera and detritus from the "Suits: The Clothes Make the Man" project (in collaboration with designer Todd Oldham). The Suits project was also documented in a book published by Harry N. Abrams.
Press-ready images are available upon request. For further information, please contact Cornell DeWitt Gallery at 212 695 6845.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: C. Cornell DeWitt Cornell DeWitt Gallery, LLC 521 W 26 St New York, NY 10001 t: 212 695 6845 f: 212 695 6872 e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.dewittgallery.com
