Now-legendary figures as well as younger artists who have revolted against the aesthetic orthodoxies of their times are featured in the Walker Art Center exhibition
Abstract Resistance
on view February 27–May 23. Nearly 40 works ranging from the 1950s to a brand-new commission do not conform to a single theme, but are united in challenging what is expected of art, from the way it looks to the role it plays in society at large. The exhibition considers “resistance” as a complex formal and political force, as is suggested by the title it borrows from a featured sculpture by Thomas Hirschhorn. Ultimately, Abstract Resistance proposes an alternative framework for aesthetically inventive, ethically engaged, and politically defiant art. The exhibition, drawn mostly from the Walker’s collection, highlights works in assemblage, collage, and photomontage by Francis Bacon, Lynda Benglis, Anthony Caro, Sarah Charlesworth, Bruce Conner, Willem de Kooning, Lucio Fontana, Hollis Frampton, Philip Guston, Rachel Harrison, Hirschhorn, Ellsworth Kelly, Paul McCarthy, Robert Motherwell, Bruce Nauman, Cady Noland, Charles Ray, Gedi Sibony, Kara Walker, Andro Wekua, and Cathy Wilkes.
Starting with Michel Foucault’s assertion that “where there is power, there is resistance,” curator Yasmil Raymond argues that art made since World War II has been shaped by traumatic historical events in complex ways. Rather than creating an explicit art of social protest, artists have responded to violence and upheaval with art that rejects comforting moral certainties. Such art, says Raymond, is “resistant to interpretation; it withholds information, it tends to evade identification, and certainly it protests interrogation.”
Abstract Resistance brings together four generations of artists whose works have rarely, if ever, been seen together in one installation. Works by legendary figures such as Francis Bacon, Lynda Benglis, Philip Guston, and Willem de Kooning are juxtaposed with new acquisitions and a commissioned piece by artists currently at the forefront of contemporary art, including Rachel Harrison, Thomas Hirschhorn, Gedi Sibony, Andro Wekua, and Cathy Wilkes, among others.
The “abstract” qualities of the works in the exhibition are grounded in the context of the real world in ways that are emotional, visceral, and confrontational, creating an ethical relationship to recent events and the challenges facing political thought today. They are inherently “contemporary” and meant to be understood in the context of our times, when so much in our culture and society seems geared toward individualism, escapism, and a familiar kind of order. In both scale and content, Wilkes’ walk-in environment, commissioned by the Walker, evokes a domestic space in which the viewer is surrounded by found and hand-made vessels, toys, and a life-size terracotta figure that suggest symbols of birth, life, and communion.
In their struggle with the abstract qualities of death, violence, and conflict, the artists represented in Abstract Resistance provoke discomfort as well as the possibility for empathy.
To accompany the exhibition, the Walker will publish a collection of essays by exhibition curator Yasmil Raymond, art historian Simon Baier, and philosopher Marcus Steinweg as well as artist statements by Thomas Hirschhorn, Gedi Sibony, and Cathy Wilkes. The publication will be available online and through the Walker Art Center Shop in April.
Card Catalogue
A new approach to the traditional gallery guide, Card Catalogue is an evolving publication featuring information on artists, exhibition themes, specific works, and a wealth of facts and artifacts from the Walker’s archives. Many authors and voices are slated to contribute to this experimental project. With a gradual accumulation of data, theories, ideas, and stories, Card Catalogue provides an expanded and amplified history of the Walker and of contemporary art in general. Interpretive materials related to Abstract Resistance will be added to the series.
Exhibition Curator
Abstract Resistance is curated by Yasmil Raymond, Curator, Dia Art Foundation, New York. Formerly associate curator of visual arts at the Walker Art Center, Raymond organized solo-artist exhibitions featuring the work of Tino Sehgal (2007–2008) and Tomás Saraceno (2009). In addition, she organized Statements: Joseph Beuys, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd (2008–2009) and was co-curator of Brave New Worlds (2007), with Doryun Chong, and Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love (2007), with Philippe Vergne.
RELATED EVENTS
Opening Weekend
Walker After Hours Preview Party
Abstract Resistance
Friday, February 26, 9 pm–12 midnight
$35 ($25 Walker members)
Tickets: walkerart.org/tickets or 612.375.7600
Preview the exhibition and enjoy cocktails, complimentary Wolfgang Puck appetizers, music by Kill the Vultures and Sovietpanda, films by George Landow, the art-making activity “Comply or Resist,” and Party People Pictures.
New members receive one free party ticket (or other premium) for joining, while supplies last.
Walker After Hours sponsored by Target.
Mack Lecture/Opening-Day Talk
On Art and Discomfort
Saturday, February 27, 2 pm, Free
Cinema
Free tickets available at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk from 1 pm
Making sense of the works in the exhibition requires a shift away from the common expectation that art equates with comfort. In their struggle with the abstract qualities of death, violence, and conflict, the artists represented provoke discomfort as well as the possibility for empathy. A question is raised: can art make us care? Rather than question the moral accountability of the artist in making difficult images, Abstract Resistance ponders the viewer’s responsibility in digesting them.
Join exhibition curator Yasmil Raymond and artist/philosopher/professor Jan Estep in a discussion about art and ethics.
This program is made possible by generous support from Aaron and Carol Mack.
Films Come Alive: The Films of Hollis Frampton
Hapax Legomena
Directed by Hollis Frampton
Introduced by Bruce Jenkins
Part I: Saturday, February 27, 7:30 pm
Part II: Sunday, February 28, 2 pm
$8 ($6 Walker members)
Double feature: One ticket includes both screenings on consecutive days.
“Hapax legomena are, literally, ‘things said once.’ The scholarly jargon refers to those words that occur only a single time in the entire oeuvre of an author, or in a whole literature.”—Hollis Frampton
Gorgeously restored by New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Anthology Film Archives, the seven-part Hapax Legomena investigates the potential of film and its relationship between artist and audience. Hollis Frampton’s towering achievement poses complex philosophical questions about the nature of the moving image in a manner that can be challenging, revealing, and at times amusing. Introduced by former Walker film/video curator Bruce Jenkins, who was a close friend of Frampton’s and is a leading scholar of his work and editor of On the Camera Arts and Consecutive Matters: The Writings of Hollis Frampton. Frampton’s (nostalgia), one section of Hapax Legomena, is featured in the exhibition. 1971–1972, 16mm, Part I: 95 minutes; Part II: 110 minutes.
Target Free Thursday Nights
Thursday, March 25
Sound Bites: Short Talks About Art, 6:30 and 7 pm
Charles Ray’s Unpainted Sculpture: A New Look at an Old Friend
This 15- to 20-minute gallery conversation, led by a curator or tour guide, offers a fresh perspective on this riveting work.
Thursday, April 15
Sound Bites: Short Talks About Art, 6:30 and 7 pm
Cathy Wilkes’ The Sea of Galilee
This 15- to 20-minute gallery conversation, led by a curator or tour guide, offers an illuminated discussion on this piece commissioned for the exhibition.
Thursday, April 22
Pre-performance Tour: Miroku and Abstract Resistance, 7 pm
Before a performance of international dance artist Saburo Teshigawara’s Miroku, a solo work of striking visual beauty, rigor, and clarity, tour a selection of artworks on view in the exhibition to discover shared themes such as breaking from tradition and examining cultural definitions of beauty. Tour length: 45 minutes. To make a reservation, call 612.375.7600.
Pre-performance tours are limited to 25 people. Tours are free with event ticket purchase, but registration is required
Thursday, April 29
Sound Bites: Short Talks About Art, 6:30 and 7 pm
Thomas Hirschhorn’s Abstract Resistance
This 15- to 20-minute gallery conversation, led by a curator or tour guide, focuses on Hirschhorn’s featured sculpture to address “resistance” as a complex formal and political force.
Adult learning opportunities are made possible by Richard and Claudia Swager.
Target Free Thursday Nights sponsored by Target.
Pre-opening Artist Talks
Join some of the artists featured in the exhibition for these talks at local venues.
Tuesday, February 23
Artist Talk: Thomas Hirschhorn, 6:30 pm, Free
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Auditorium 150
2501 Stevens Avenue, Minneapolis
Thursday, February 25
Artist Talk: Gedi Sibony, 7 pm, Free
University of Minnesota Department of Art
Regis Center, INFLUX Room
405 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis
Gallery Tours
Thursday, March 11, 2 pm
Friday, March 12, 2 pm
Saturday, March 20, 2 pm
Sunday, March 21, 2 pm
Sunday, March 28, 2 pm
Thursday, April 1, 2 pm
Friday, April 9, 2 pm
Saturday, April 10, 2 pm
Friday, April 23, 2 pm
Gallery Hours and Admission
$10 adults; $8 seniors (65+); $6 students/teens (with ID)
Free to Walker members and children ages 12 and under.
Free with a paid ticket to a same-day Walker event.
Free to all every Thursday evening (5–9 pm) and on the first Saturday of each month (10 am–5 pm).
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11 am–5 pm
Thursday 11 am–9 pm
Closed Mondays
