Art Vent

Letting the Fresh Air In

Even MORE Orozco

December 18, 2009 - 10:01pm -- Carol Diehl
Peter Schjeldahl, "Gerhard Richter, Abstract Painting (894-1), 2005 11 3/4 x 17 3/8

If, after the Orozco show, you want to indulge your senses in a retrograde manner, hop on over to the same place we first saw those Dannon lids, the Marian Goodman Gallery, and wallow in Gerhard Richter’s gorgeous scraped abstractions, up through January 9th.

Comments

Part of the problem I see with Orozco's retrospective is similar to what I've experienced with some musicians who put out great singles, but when you get an album collecting all the singles you are struck by a lack of cohesiveness. They are better at putting out short pieces than a more extended format. Often Orozco's single works exude an odd, poetic sensibility, but seeing too many at once weakens them.

" Are they art? No. They are Dannon yogurt lids. The art part is a triggered awareness that the world teems with vernacular loveliness. If you overlook that, it’s sad for you."

And maybe sad for Orozco, who possibly did have that awareness but won't share, except to put the lids on the wall to challenge others to be as insightful as himself.

I kind of think it's the artist's job to do the translation part, from everyday to transcendent. I'll bet Cezanne would have found it much easier just to put a bowl of apples on a pedestal in the middle of a gallery.

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