Exiting Gordon Matta Clark Show In Saint Louis

Half assed post- may elaborate or correct.

I never experienced Gordon Matta Clark's work first hand, but just the guy is really a head opener in terms of the way he used simple methods to let people reimagine social boundaries and space. Swoon called him one of her greatest inspirations.



Gordon Matta-Clark
Conical Intersect (detail)
1975
27-29, rue Beaubourg, Paris
courtesy of David Zwirner, NY and the Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark

Gordon Matta Clark: Conical Intersect (1975, 16mm Film, Farbe, auf DVD überspielt, Farbe, ohne Ton 17'12") from nothinglefttoadjust on Vimeo.

"Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978) used neglected structures slated for demolition as his raw material. He carved out sections of buildings with a power saw in order to reveal their hidden construction, to provide new ways of perceiving space, and to create metaphors for the human condition. When wrecking balls knocked down his sculpted buildings, little remained. He took photographs and films of his interventions and kept a few of the building segments. The placement of Matta-Clark’s work in the building by Tadao Ando offers the means to recall the artist’s lost interventions. Ando's and Matta-Clark's structures break the visual and symbolic boundaries normally associated with the architectural “box” by allowing light to penetrate spaces in unexpected ways. Moreover, the exhibition programming builds upon Matta-Clark’s desire to give abandoned objects and buildings new meaning by connecting the artist’s social activism to present-day St. Louis.

The Pulitzer, in collaboration with Washington University’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work, is organizing exhibition programming that will build upon Matta-Clark’s desire to imbue abandoned objects, buildings, and parcels of land with new meaning. The Pulitzer hopes to help carry Matta-Clark’s legacy into the 21st century and to inspire a new generation of social activism through creative acts."

"A new interactive arts program in St. Louis poses those questions, and calls on citizens to create the portrait through media and personal expression.

Later this month, the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts will launch Urban Alchemy/Gordon Matta-Clark, named for and continuing the legacy of a local urban activist who inspired community engagement through art."

Anyway, The Pulitzer Foundation is using the show as a springboard for community projects. Could be great or the usual bogus fake engagement we often get.

I found out about this on Rust Wire.