Wall Text for the Home

As demonstrated by my earlier post on wall text, I love to geek out on museum and curatorial type humor. I suspect that not too many people find these things funny, but I do know that it make me a huge dork. I recently pulled Steve Martin's book Pure Drivel off my bookshelf, which has several hysterical art related essays, and of course I also own the Museum of Bad Art's original collection handbook, now out of print. Is there something about springtime that makes one seek out humorous material (and blog about it)?

I recently stumbled across the below on McSweeney's, a site that I should visit more often, and found this witty take on wall text. Enjoy!

WALL TEXT FROM MY HOME. BY GRAHAM T. BECK
Read more wall text here.
- - - -
Brown Couch, 1999
UPHOLSTERY, WOOD, POLYESTER FILL, ASSORTED STAINS.
PERMANENT COLLECTION.

Undoubtedly one of Beck's best-known works, Brown Couch, 1999 was first shown at the Salvation Army in Poughkeepsie, New York, and has since been a centerpiece in all but one of his full-scale exhibitions.

Its distinctive form, created by the absence of one armrest, draws viewers in and allows sitters to choose between a chaise-longue position and a more conventional posture. Although it has received critical acclaim from all his tall friends, and is where Jack and Kate first made out, recent revisionist critiques by his girlfriend have focused on its threadbare cushions, which are stained on both sides.

------------------------------------------------------------

Jade Plant, 2006

JADE PLANT, SOIL, TERRA-COTTA POT.
SEMI-PERMANENT COLLECTION.

Jade Plant, 2006 is the last surviving part of the Window Sill exhibition of the same year. Started as a way to showcase responsibility and give off an earthy, environmental vibe to his not yet live-in girlfriend, the vegetation-based display failed when he went away to New Mexico for three weeks and didn't ask anyone to water the plants.

Despite long periods of continued neglect, Jade Plant, 2006 has remained alive and mostly green. It frequently elicits the question
"Is that thing dead?"

Geek Post: Wall text

Until I can muster up a review of Photolucida, I will share this great overview of the history of museum wall text. Yes, that's what I wrote, wall text. As a curator, I think about these things and write them (it can't get more geeky than that!). Over at Tyler Green's Modern Art Notes, he offers up the post "Where wall text came from" in response to the Jeff Wall exhibition at MoMA. Green notes that the show has a short introduction from Peter Galassi and simple individual titles. He also shares a link to a Flickr set of photos that capture bewildering wall text from a newly-renovated Glasgow gallery called the Kelvingrove. Wow...I must say, these astonishing blurbs seem to be written very quickly by an intern or by a performance or conceptual artist. You can read more about the museum's philosophy here. Nevertheless, I must say I still prefer what they dub "Victorian" museum writing to this. Here is a camera phone snap of one of the Kelvingrove texts:

They remind me a bit of the brilliant wall text from the Museum of Bad Art here in the Boston suburb of Dedham. If you haven't been to MOBA yet, get thee there!

Here are some of the standouts from the MOBA catalogue:

Can the swirling steam melt away the huge weight of George's corporate responsibilities? This pointillist piece is curious for meticulous attention to fine detail, such as the stitching around the edge of the towel, in contrast to the almost careless disregard for the subject's feet.
see the image here

Stirring in its portrayal of feline angst. Is Peter hungry or contemplating his place in a hungry world? The artist has evoked both hopelessness and glee with his irrational use of negative space.
see the image here

For those in the Boston area, MOBA is presenting their MOBA Rejection Collection Auction, this coming Monday, April 23. Check out the catalogue online here. Car pool anyone?