Situation Comedy
dal 8/9/2005 al 31/12/2005
Segnalato da
8/9/2005
Situation Comedy
The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu
Humor in Recent Art. The human condition has been the subject of comedy for eons, from ancient Greek theater to the daily comic strip. During the past five to ten years, however, humor has turned up with increasing frequency in contemporary art, perhaps satisfying an urgent need among artists and audiences alike to reflect upon the absurdity of daily existence. The exhibition presents more than 50 works: video and sound installations, paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photographs.
Humor in Recent Art
The human condition has been the subject of comedy for eons, from ancient Greek
theater to the daily comic strip. During the past five to ten years, however, humor
has turned up with increasing frequency in contemporary art, perhaps satisfying an
urgent need among artists and audiences alike to reflect upon the absurdity of daily
existence. The traveling exhibition Situation Comedy: Humor in Recent Art presents
more than fifty works—video and sound installations, paintings, sculptures,
drawings, and photographs—by younger as well as more established contemporary
artists working primarily in North America and Europe.
Curated by Michael Rooks, curator at The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu and Dominic
Molon, Pamela Alper associate curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago,
Situation Comedy is the first large-scale exhibition in the United States devoted to
this subject. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue written by
the curators and includes a story excerpted from David Sedaris' acclaimed book Me
Talk Pretty One Day. Situation Comedy premieres on September 9th at The
Contemporary Museum, Honolulu. After its Hawaii premiere, the exhibition will
travel to the Chicago Cultural Center, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
and the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale.
Situation Comedy is a traveling exhibition organized and circulated by Independent
Curators International (iCI), New York. The exhibition was curated by Dominic Molon
and Michael Rooks. The exhibition, tour, and catalogue are made possible, in part,
by grants from the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation and The Horace W. Goldsmith
Foundation, with additional support from the iCI International Associates and the
iCI-Independents.
The presentation of Situation Comedy in Honolulu is made possible through support
from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. In-kind support has been
provided by Sony Hawaii, ResortQuest Hawaii, and CineSystems, Honolulu. Sound for
Rodney Graham’s Vexation Island provided by BOSE® at Victoria Ward.
About The Contemporary Museum
The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, is the only museum in the state of Hawai‘i
devoted exclusively to contemporary art. TCM provides an accessible forum for
provocative, dynamic forms of visual art, offering interaction with art and artists
in a unique Island environment. TCM presents its innovative exhibition and education
programs at two venues: in residential Honolulu at the historic Spalding house, and
downtown at First Hawaiian Center.
Image: Alexej Koschkarow, ‘Tortenschlact (Pie Fight)’, 2003, Video still. Collection of the artist; courtesy Jablonka Lühn, Cologne
For Further Information
Song Choi / schoi@tcmhi.org
Tel: (808) 282-0635
Fax: (808) 536-5973
Pualana Lemelle / plemelle@tcmhi.org
Tel: (808) 237-5235
The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu
2411 Makiki Heights Drive
Honolulu, Hawai’i 96822
Tuesday through Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday noon-4pm
free to the public on the third Thursday of each month