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Hotel Theory
Ruth Estévez and Sohrab Mohebbi
REDCAT, California Institute of Arts | Los Angeles, CA
Exhibition dates: October 3 - December 20, 2015
Hotel Theory looks at the performance of theory in contemporary art. It explores how theory is circulated, used, and communicated in the arts, how artists have used and analyzed it in their work, and how it has become, in and of itself, a form of artistic production. The exhibition suggests an art historical shift from theory as a tool to theory as form, from theory as explanation to theory as medium. It brings together works by a group of artists who have inherited the legacies of conceptual art that posits ‘art as an idea’ and all have a strong command of critical theory. Hotel Theory is structured around three elements: Wayne Koestebaum’s 2007 book of the same name where the author’s reading of Heidegger’s Being in Time runs parallel to Liberace and Lana Turner’s old Hollywood misadventures; Fluxus artist Ben Vautier’s 1985 installation Theory Room, where the artist graffitied the gallery with passages from conversations with fellow artists during the installation of a group exhibition in Munich; and archival materials and ephemera that present the history of the inclusion of speech¬ – lectures, presentations, panel discussions – into the gallery space.
Ruth Estévez and Sohrab Mohebbi
REDCAT, California Institute of Arts | Los Angeles, CA
Exhibition dates: October 3 - December 20, 2015
Hotel Theory looks at the performance of theory in contemporary art. It explores how theory is circulated, used, and communicated in the arts, how artists have used and analyzed it in their work, and how it has become, in and of itself, a form of artistic production. The exhibition suggests an art historical shift from theory as a tool to theory as form, from theory as explanation to theory as medium. It brings together works by a group of artists who have inherited the legacies of conceptual art that posits ‘art as an idea’ and all have a strong command of critical theory. Hotel Theory is structured around three elements: Wayne Koestebaum’s 2007 book of the same name where the author’s reading of Heidegger’s Being in Time runs parallel to Liberace and Lana Turner’s old Hollywood misadventures; Fluxus artist Ben Vautier’s 1985 installation Theory Room, where the artist graffitied the gallery with passages from conversations with fellow artists during the installation of a group exhibition in Munich; and archival materials and ephemera that present the history of the inclusion of speech¬ – lectures, presentations, panel discussions – into the gallery space.
Press
Compilation of Press
Entertainment Voice: ‘Hotel Theory’ Performance Series Puts Theory Into Practice
KCRW Music Blog: Artist You Should Know: Mayo Thompson and Red Krayola
Entertainment Voice: ‘Hotel Theory’ Performance Series Puts Theory Into Practice
KCRW Music Blog: Artist You Should Know: Mayo Thompson and Red Krayola