“All Means are Sacred”—group exhibition with Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Raoul De Keyser, Olafur Eliasson, Follower of Hieronymous Bosch, Giorgio Griffa, Charles Harlan, Giorgio Morandi, Ouyang Chun, Herman Saftleven, Egon Schiele, Guido van der Werve, Xu Sheng, Yang Changxu, and anonymous artists.
M Woods (D-06, 798 Art Zone No.2 Jiuxianqiao Rd, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 100015), Mar 27–Jul 24, 2016
All means are sacred: this prompts one to question the purpose—the ends—of those means. It is a dangerous statement, to say the least; a cause that justifies everything creates a totality. Far too many madmen on this planet think like that now. Are they serious?! Let us delve into the art for some answers:
1. Guido van der Werve, “Nummer negen, the day I didn’t turn with the world”, 2007
1. Guido van der Werve, “Nummer negen, the day I didn’t turn with the world”, 2007
Here we have the artist situated at the North Pole, turning slowly in the direction opposite to the planet’s rotation—so as to create that fixed position around which the whole world revolves. The unmoved mover—clearly not a position for a human being. A time-lapse film shows the artist nervously dithering on the screen. This would make one nauseous were it not for rather loud classical music that somewhat irrelevantly accompanies the video and permeates the exhibition halls.
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2. Charles Harlan, “Tree”, 2014
2. Charles Harlan, “Tree”, 2014
Ingrown barbed wire forms a cross with a cut tree branch: Christ’s crucifixion/coronation in perpetuity. One has to ponder how many years it took the tree to grow around the wire. And what does this mean for a religion built around human sacrifice?!
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3. Anonymous, “Untitled (Chomu)”, 2013
3. Anonymous, “Untitled (Chomu)”, 2013
Devotional drawings from India inadvertently mimic abstract art,—reminding us of the religious origin of art beyond the narratives told by people. A corporeal/spiritual reality that can all too easily be dismissed.
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4. Raoul De Keyser, “Untitled”, 1988
4. Raoul De Keyser, “Untitled”, 1988
Self-consciously the same as #3, but painted on honeycomb aluminum instead of paper. A fortification that says something about the troubles of metaphysics in post-industrial times. We can insist, but the foundations have been pulled out from under our feet.
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5. Olafur Eliasson, “Attraction”, 2015
5. Olafur Eliasson, “Attraction”, 2015
A meteor pointed away from Earth’s gravitational pull—a simple trick, granted. But is there life on Mars? Are we the only ones? There was apparently an ancient Greek temple where the gods were suspended in mid-air by magnets hidden inside the temple walls for worshippers to marvel at. In modern times, science wants transparency.
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6. Giorgio Morandi, “Fiori”, 1951
6. Giorgio Morandi, “Fiori” 1951
Atypical and less austere than other Morandis, a very fleshy painting of flowers in decay. Looking at it makes you gag. And the sinister shadow on the right throws the image into an unbalanced state, sending shivers up your neck. Is this for real?
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7. Yang Changxu, “Arhat Book”, 1735–96
7. (1) Yang Changxu, “Arhat Book”, 1735-96
The wide eight-fold path to the four stages of enlightenment. Twelve works show old men and creatures alike, mostly resting. Some paint cities into the sky (why do I have to think of modern day Beijing?!), seemingly effortlessly. Whatever “sacrifice”—if that is the right word in the context —it took to attain this state of mind, it doesn’t show. Again, why do I think of recent Chinese history?
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8. Anonymous, “Untitled”, c. 550–557
8. Anonymous, “Untitled”, c. 550-557
A water basin displays monks carrying plant sprouts in clasped hands. Of course, it would be silly to think of the already faded fashion trend in Beijing, where those sprouts were on the heads of mostly young women. Then again, looking at the carvings from fifteen hundred years ago makes me understand that everything has a root in culture.
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9. Follower of Hieronymus Bosch, “St. Christopher carrying Christ Child through a sinful world”, c. 1525
9. Follower of Hieronymus Bosch, “St. Christopher carrying Christ Child through a sinful world”, c. 1525
This soulless bricolage of different tropes along with some very direct quotes from the work of its predecessor might make the viewer profoundly sad. Obviously, in all ages, true inspiration and spiritual sensibility can always be exploited. At Wagas (a coffee chain in China), I saw a drink on the menu called the “Bob Marley” which contains some tropical fruit; he must be turning in his grave—as are poor Hieronymus and his Judeo-Christian cult leader whose name has been forgotten.
The work, however, has aged graciously, and what in its time was a heartless knockoff has since become a serious reminder of what we have almost lost in the process of modernity: the metaphysical realm. It was Adorno who explored pure immanence as a definition for hell. God, everybody! Just look at the painting!
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This show is meant to be a wake-up call of sorts. Far from creating a totality (as the title implies), it presents examples accessible to the museum’s founders through their own collections, thus risking accusations of incongruity in the exhibition. And yet this is its secret strength. Building on the power of each artwork, the exhibition lets us know that true spirituality is not the business of a church or any kind of regulatory institution. As in art, inspiration happens—or else it doesn’t. This is the true value of art. The rest is business.
