ARMORY SHOW NEW YORK 2004

Armory Show, two words with one meaning: an exhibition of elite world galleries in New York. Anyway the galleries that set out a clear course of events through their position on the art market.

The Armory Show has its own historical memory; it is not only some idea plucked out of thin air by the art business types. You will not find this name in the universal encyclopedias, but a certain educated part of this nation knows that there is a clear reference to the year of 1913 when under the same name the first American exhibition of modern art was held outside the institutions in a former armory factory. At that time about 300 artists from Europe and America participated with about 1250 works shown, mostly paintings.

Now it’s 2004, and the foremost ”disseminators” of commercial and non-commercial efforts in art have been invited to New York. The criteria for the yearly selection is determined by long-term memory, which also carries a certain risk. Most know who is who and why. It is also known that there are galleries that feel obliged not to take part in such projects, which is sometimes also acknowledged by some ”non-conformist” theoreticians. But discussion of this approach with its many meanings and art strategies would only sidetrack us.

So to get an idea of what the Armory Show is about, some basic information: country – USA; city – New York City; time – March 11-15, 2004; place – 2x pier (200m x 40m) numbers 90 and 91 on 12th Avenue; number of galleries – about 200; number of exhibited works – 3000 - 5000.

And if that wasn’t enough, the top professional art magazines also exhibited their goods. That’s why I am happy to report that this year the only one chosen from the Czech Republic and maybe from the whole of Eastern Europe was Prague’s Gallery Futura (last year it was Gallery Švestka). Futura presented these artists: E. Percossi, F. Simeti, Jan Kotík, V. Bromová, A. Kotzmanová, M. Thelenová, J. Příhoda, D. Černý, T. Lahoda, and J. David. It devoted its exposition to a different artist every day. Futura had a small space and surely wasn’t at the center of attention, but the simple fact that it got into this position with its exhibition program and presented artists is an important sign for the future. The Armory Show is also a place of important meetings, where many contracts and exhibitions are negotiated.

All that remained was to walk around, take it in, feel it, experience it, classify, eliminate, select. But that wasn’t easy. From all sides I was bombarded by intensive impulses and stimuli. And if you are not dispassionate, slightly choosy and, a priori, a bored calculator, you had your hands full from 12 to 8 in the evening. I admit straight away that I could only hold out for eight hours in two days — or one good Czech work shift.

Why? Because there was another world exhibition of galleries in NY (on six floors of a huge hotel on 9th Avenue and 18th Street) under the name Scope. And not only that, the famous Whitney Biennale in the Whitney Museum was just kicking off. Which is a huge chunk, even for a more experienced person, not including the fact that you are in NY only every so often (and after fighting through all the unbearable, maybe at this time understandable, administrative regulations) and you want to see something other than just art spectacle.

As I already mentioned, the Armory Show is a brand name in the world of art, though compared to the Whitney Biennale it is more chaotic and wild. But it is still one of those events — along with a few of others, e.g. Miami, Berlin or Basil, Istanbul or Sao Paulo — to which an unbelievable number of people come. Every such event has its pros and cons. If you are not participating in it, you are indifferent, and you can have your own show shattering opinions. If you are partaker, you are more indulgent and you search out a more positive evaluation. For this reason I respect those who are able to unthink their previously constructed attitudes and observe everything with clear head.

Outside the weather was cold and windy, and inside you had to fight your way through the crowds. I estimate that at least 5,000 people visited the Armory every day. What these people saw can hardly be summed up. All of my choices were subjective and this could distort the reality. Still I will try to convey my impression. At first sight it was clear that America is still hung up on the wall painting, and it is not just a given that it’s because it always sells better — as many sophisticated theoreticians and their favorite artist ”racehorses” in Europe would have you believe. In its defense, I would say that there’s no painting like a painting. There were many video installations, objects, sculptures, and photos, but still the painting and drawing seemed to drown out all the others. The content and formal quality is for others to judge, but to me they seemed good, oscillating from total stupidity to surprising, interesting possibilities. By the way, at the Whitney Biennale this tendency — if I can call it that — also prevailed. What’s more, many artists from the Biennale were represented by their galleries at the Armory Show at the same time and many of the works at the Scope, Whitney and Armory could have been swapped around. That’s why I don’t share the opinion of some art critics who say the Armory Show is only about business. Of course people were buying and selling, why not!? If we could only say that, even in disgust, about our own country.

My favorite work was by a young photographer from Dresden, Loretta Lux. She exhibited inconspicuous, smaller photos of six- or seven-year-old children looking suggestively towards you on a slightly washed out background of rooms and landscapes. But in total the choice of their typology, expression, light, their posture and clothes caused a very intense, unrepeatable experience. I really look forward to seeing more of her photos.

I probably didn’t see all the videos to the end, actually only some of them. But only one work was really worth watching to the end (I’m a restless, impatient viewer of video art). It was fantastic. A human figure was lying on the ground, but you never saw the head. A few seconds later it started to jerkily worm along the concrete barriers on the outskirts of some city. It slid along in a horizontal position, sometimes it jumped unbelievable onto the perpendicular side of the concrete barrier and then onto the top ledge where it worked its way over obstructions until it came to a halt somewhere under a bridge. Every action was accompanied by a staccato rhythmic sound. Now you say — so what? And I say that you would have to see it — my description is only a description.

I think that the Armory Show was worth it. Its task was not to supply the latest information from the art world (though this wasn’t missing). Nor is it a platform for the unexpected finds of curators, who willingly or unwillingly have to look for strongly substantiated, often controversial starting points. And it didn’t try to camouflage the fact that art is not an inexpensive thing, that it is not for everybody. Still I allow myself one heretical thought: in all the New York ”shows” I have experienced, it would be excellent to throw in some artists from the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Romania, Moldavia or Ukraine. They would fit in without problem, even the independent, obstinate, non-commercial, revolutionary, unknown artists from the whole world. But every strategy holds steadfast to its demarcated territory. It seems that for now this suits everyone. But the borders of mutually inspiring permeability are not guarded, only the context, the connections.

01.01.2004