Zero GWhen ^Gravity becomes Form 06.04.99-08.04.99 Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion 060499-080499 TheWhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt atChampionisfundedbyChampion InternationalCorporation. Thisexhibitionwasorganizedbythe1998-99 HelenaRubinsteinCuratorialFellowsofthe WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArtIndependent StudyProgram:Ko'anJeffBaysa,EvaDiaz,and Michelle-LeeWhite. TheWhitneyMuseumofAmericanArtIndependentStudy ProgramissupportedinpartbyJoanneLeonhardtCassullo, theNewDorotheaL.LeonhardtFundoftheCommunities FoundationofTexas,EastonFoundation,andtheNational CommitteeoftheWhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt. EndowmentsupportisprovidedbyTheDorotheaL. LeonhardtFoundation,Inc.,andtheHelenaRubinstein Foundation. ©1999WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt 945MadisonAvenueat75thStreet NewYork,NY 10021 www.whitney.org WhenGravityBecome*form 4 Introduction 6 Gravity's Draw:A Look at the 1960s and the 1990s Eva Diaz 14 OnTweakingGravityandVisualizingthe Unseen Ko'an JeffBaysa,M.D. 20 Gravityas a Performative Experience Michelle-LeeWhite 28 Works in the Exhibition 31 Acknowledgments WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt Zen>C itChampion WhenGravityBecomesform 4 WhentheworldwitnessedNeilArmstrongandBuzz — AldrinbouncingaroundonthesurfaceofthemoononJuly29.1969,theeffectsofgravity orinthiscase, — reducedgravity becamevividinourminds.Eachoftheastronauts'stepshadtobecalculated,astheforcethey usedtopushthemselvesforwardcouldsendthemupwardinstead.Thetelevisedimageofthespacewalkgavethe conceptofanearthboundexistencenewmeaning. Newaestheticpathswerealsobeingforgedthatchangedthewaythepublicexperiencedandinterpreted contemporaryart.ThePostminimalandConceptualartmovementswereliberatingartfromitsstaticandesoteric presenceingalleriesandmuseumsbyshiftingemphasisfromtheobjecttotheidea.Heightenedinteractivitywith mediaandtheaudiencewascreatingadiscursivespacethatredirectedconventionalideasaboutwhereandhow artcouldbeseen. "Zero-C:WhenGravityBecomesForm"focusesonartthatsuggestsalternativewaysofreadingthefamiliar throughanexplorationofgravity.Theaeronauticalterm"zero-G"alludestomaintainingaphysicalequilibrium betweengravityandtheconditionofarrestedmotionknownasantigravity.Accordingly,theartinthisexhibition Ko'an Jeff Baysa Eva Diaz Michelle-Lee White Introduction Ko'anJeffBaysa Michtlle-lteWhit 5 — depictstransitionalmoments snapshots,asitwere, Theworkin"Zero-C:WhenGravityBecomesForm" ofinteractionwithgravity.Tobestrevealtheartistic contemplatesaprofoundhumanrelationshiptothe investigationofthisstate,theworksselecteduse naturalworld.Thevisualarticulationofthisrelation- thefulldimensionsoftheexhibitionspace:thereare shipistemperedwithcreativetwistsandturnsthat floor,wall,andsuspendedpieces,andmostofthem directourattentiontotheformofthecommunica- touchanumberofmedia,fromvideoandvideo- tion.Yet,gravityuniteseveryoneandeverythingin derivedphotographytofigurativeandorganically acommondependenceuponandresistancetothe abstractpaintings. magnetismoftheearth.Byshapingourphysical motion,gravitybecomesacreativeforce,anauthori- Theworks,moreover,canbereadonhistorical,theo- tativeenergywithwhichtheartistsintheexhibition retical,orscientificlevelsthattogetherprovideanew engage,whetherascollaboratorsorresisters. frameofreferenceforunderstandingandinterpreta- tion.EvaDiaz'sessaytakesacomparativehistorical approachtothe1960sandthe1990s,exploringuses ofgravityfromtheirconceptualforegroundingin Postminimalismtotheirliteraleffectsinmorerecent work.Ko'anJeffBaysainvestigatesgravityasaninvis- ibleforcewhosepresenceisvisualizedincontempo- raryartthroughitsactionsandeffects.Michelle-Lee White'sessayfocusesongravityincontemporaryart astherecordedcommunicationofalivedexperience withnaturalphenomena. WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt Zero-C atChampion WhenGravityBecome*form 6 Gravityanchorsobjectsinrelationtofieldsofmass.This seeminglyinnocuouspropertyofexistencenonethelessweighsheavilyinthepracticeofart,whichmanifestssuch physicalandintangibleaspectsofgravityasfloating/falling,liquidity/rigidity,andaction/inertia.Someartistsfore- groundgravityascentraltoawork'sconception,whileothersuseitforitsoftenstartlingeffects.Despitethe diverserangeoftheartists'interpretations,thereseemtobetwomaintrajectories:oneasculpturalandconceptu- alizeduseofgravity,theotheramoretwo-dimensional,literalperformanceofgravity. Themovementinthelate1960stowardaPostminimalistaestheticsensibility1reflectsthefirst,conceptualized trajectorywhereartistsinterrogatednotionsofsoftness,pliability,andformlessnessasintegraltoboththe creationandeffectofaworkofart.AsartistRobertMorrisstated:"Anobjecthungonthewalldoesnotconfront gravity;ittimidlyresistsit.Oneoftheconditionsofknowinganobjectissuppliedbythesensingofthegravita- tionalforceactinguponitinactualspace."2 Manyartistsofthisperiod,amongthemMorris,LouiseBourgeois,andLyndaBenglis,actedonasimilarimpetus, freeingtheworkofartfromrepresentationalandexclusivelyaestheticconcernsandinsteademphasizingits Draw: Gravity's A Look EraDiai at the 1960s and the 1990s A iGravityBecomesForm — relationshiptoexternalconditions totheviewer, inthelate1960s)tacklethesculpturaldepiction thespacearoundit,oritsprocessofcreation.They ofanobjectintheprocessoflosingitsstructural oftenusedmalleable,molten,orheavymaterialsto integrity—sculpturemadesubjecttotheconstraints enactaphysicalandtemporalrepresentationofthe ofgravity'sdownwardpull.ForBenglis,anormative effectsofgravity.Forexample,inSoftLandscapeI relationshiptogravityisviolatedinfavorofthe (1967),Bourgeoisimagineswhatthepuddlingand impossiblyfrozeninstant,aspouredaluminum, localizationofintensegravitationalpullmightlook launchedfromthewall,remainsforeverfixedina like,asshedepictsatinyplasticdioramaofundiffer- momentofdescent.InMorris'Untitled,twostrips entiatedsoftenedformsmeltedandfusedbythe ofcoarsegrayfeltaretackedtoseparateendsofthe insufferablepressureofheighteneddensityand wall.Connectedatmid-point,theyformasagging weight.Theobject'slackofarmatureorsupport, renditionofagravity-inflectedchainlink;their whichdrivesittowardastateofentropyandchaos, tenuousinterlacingpreventsatotalcapitulation iscloselylinkedwiththeperceivedeffectsofgravity. togravity'sforce. Similarly,Benglis'Wing(1969)andMorris'Untitled (1974;butcloseinappearancetoworkscreated Oneoftheimmediatehistoricalprecursorstothis RobertMorris,Untitled,191 )LyndaBenglis/liccnstdbyVACA.New Lynda Benglis,Wing,1969 trendinartofthelate1960swasClaesOldenburg, ceptualexplorationsofgravityseemstohaveabated. whoseSoftToilet(1966)evokesthepossibilityof Itwasonlyinthe1990sthatartistsagainbeganto familiarobjectsgonestrange.Usingnewsculptural probegravity'seffectsonsculpturalobjects.Postmini- materialssuchasvinyl,Oldenburgcreatedlimpand malism'sjuxtapositionofthebodilyandthesyn- lifelessreplicasofhouseholdstaplesthatbecome thetic,thefamiliarandthestrange,seemsparticu- dissolvedbythepowerfuldematerializationof larlyfruitfulforcontemporaryartists,ladenasitis gravity'sdraw.AlignedwiththistendencyisRichard withambiguityandinconsistency,yetprovoking Serra's1968Prop,wherethebalancedarrangements playfulreassessments.Lookinganewatthe1960s, ofweightyobjectsprecariouslymanagestocounter- artistssuchasErnestoNeto,CharlesLong,andLee actgravity.Employinglead,oneofnature'sdensest Borosonarecreatingobjectsthatsurrenderstructural materials,Propisareminderthatoppositionto coherence,revertingtoastateofinertiaorhorizon- gravityisindeedpossible,albeitcontingentand tally.AppropriatingthesoftmaterialsofPostmini- ultimatelyuncertain. malism,suchasrubber,latex,andvinyl,theserecent effortsarefraughtwithasimilarambivalenceabout Duringthe1970sand1980s,artists'interestincon- theabilityofanobjecttoresistgravity'sattraction.