Works To Inaugurate A Space

Works To Inaugurate A Space
The First in a Series of Installations
from the Stone Collection
curation by
thea westreich art advisory services
Over the past two decades, Norman and Norah Stone have
formed an art collection that speaks to their individual sensibility and is internationally admired for its excellence and
unique perspective. They have focused their collecting on
artists who transcend cultural boundaries, undermine conventional notions of purity in painting and sculpture, and strike a
balance between conceptual and perceptual qualities.
Given their unique vision and unabashed daring, it is not surprising that the Stones would create a new type of exhibition
space to show their art. They have taken the age-old, commonly used modality of carving out an underground area for
the storage of wine and transformed it into a refined space for
the exhibition of art.
The 5,750-square-foot Art Cave, designed by Bade Stageberg
Cox, is situated inside a mountain on the Stones’ Napa Valley
property. It is seamlessly integrated as part of the now completed “Stonescape,” which also features a newly designed pool
and pavilion by James Turrell; a 1990 outdoor sculpture by Cady
Noland; a farmhouse, built in 1887, that is installed with exceptional works of contemporary art and outstanding examples of
mid-century Scandinavian design (all from the Stones’ collection); a vineyard; and a majestic stand of redwood trees.
The Stones began to seriously collect in the mid-1980s and
with notable prescience assembled some of the best works by
artists who emerged in that decade, including Robert Gober,
Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Cady Noland,
Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman and Christopher Wool.
Over their collecting history, they’ve also acquired the works of
several postwar masters, such as Joseph Beuys, Marcel Duchamp,
Sigmar Polke, Dieter Roth and Andy Warhol—all seminal artists
whose influence is manifest throughout the collection.
From the rich vein of Minimal and Conceptual art-making
practice, they have collected important works by Vito Acconci,
John Baldessari, Dan Flavin, Gilbert & George, Donald Judd,
Bruce Nauman, Richard Serra and Robert Smithson.
In the 1990s, the Stones continued to engage with new and
innovative expressions, adding to their collection works by
Doug Aitken, Matthew Barney, Larry Clark, Jack Pierson and
Jason Rhoades. They have also added early and important
works by younger artists, such as Mark Alexander, Robert Beck,
Monica Bonvicini, Ann Collier, Jan De Cock, Jamie Isenstein,
Scott Lyall, Robert Melee, Sean Paul, Eileen Quinlan, Simon
Starling, Cheyney Thompson and Keith Tyson.
Ever individual in their interests and selections, the Stones
always keep their eyes open to artists of earlier times who
connect to their interests and to the artists they have collected, such as Martin Barré, Hans Bellmer, Bruce Conner and
Tony Conrad.
The first installation in the Art Cave, “Works to Inaugurate a
Space,” curated by the Stones’ long-time art consultancy, Thea
Westreich Art Advisory Services, presents interesting groupings
that amplify the meaning of individual works, the intentionality
of the artists and, as well, currents that run through the Stone
collection. Rather than adhering to thematic, chronological or
movement-based organization, the placement of the artworks in
relation to each other fosters a rich dialogue between groupings
that span four decades, three continents and varied aesthetics.
Seen from the entrance of the cave, Monica Bonvicini’s Caged
tool #1 (hammer drill) is a good place to start, as much of Bonvicini’s work addresses the inherent gender bias of architecture
by co-opting the Minimalist aesthetic and by using materials
and objects related to construction. Here, a common tool, the
hammer drill, is wrapped in black leather, transformed into
a fetish object, and displayed on a simple pedestal of concrete
blocks, another staple of the building industry. Contrasting this
hard-edged sculpture is Rirkrit Tiravanija’s rainbow-hued tulle
Magazine Station n. 2, Receiving Station. Where Bonvicini’s sculpture is aggressive, Tiravanija’s curtains invite the viewer to share
in the architectural experience, quietly demarcating the space.
The volume of Caged tool #1 and the weightlessness of Tiravanija’s
piece are framed by the only curved wall in the cave, reminding
the viewer of the cave’s mode of construction, further explicating the themes and intentions of each artist’s work.
The cave then opens into another gallery where Vito Acconci’s
Adjustable Wall Bra anchors the installation and provides a conceptual frame for the works installed in the first large space that
the viewer encounters. This brassiere-shaped sculpture can be
configured in multiple ways and is tied to the architecture both
literally and figuratively: it is attached by cables and bolts in standard fashion, but it can also be seen as being “worn” by the walls,
a sensation heightened by the audio component—the sound of
breathing. Further, the bra’s straps curl outward, embracing other
artworks installed in the space both visually and conceptually.
The four nearby works by Mike Kelley—Shift, Antiqued and
two photographs from the Extracurricular Activity Projective
Reconstruction series—key off of the playful nature of the
Acconci bra, confounding the distinction between high and
low, and further exploring culture, memory and performance.
Dan Flavin’s the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Robert Rosenblum) is
deceptive in its simplicity; essentially it is a readymade marked
by a lack of artistic handiwork. The light’s cool color powerfully
plays off of the architecture, commanding the space, including
the surrounding artwork—almost theatrical in its own right.
Finally, Christopher Wool is a bridge between the Acconci, the
Flavin and the Kelleys. The joke of the title, Feet Don’t Fail Me
Now, a tap dancer’s last thoughts before launching into crescendo, offers an amusing and informative consideration of
Wool’s own ambitions to explore the full potentialities of art,
from the exploration of rote mechanical process to the irregularities of individual markings.
The central part of the main gallery looks back to the major
figures of the Minimalist and Conceptualist movements.
Robert Smithson’s work, including Non-Site (Mica from Portland, Connecticut, 1968), explores geologic time while it also
collapses the distinction between the point from which the
materials originate and the location in which they are displayed. Serra’s Sculpture – Black Triangle echoes the pared-down
geometrical form of Smithson’s sculpture, while Square Level
Forged directly references the manner of its own construction:
the two beams comprising this work evidence a pent-up energy
between two conflicting yet evenly matched and dependent
forces. An architecturally based work, this piece demonstrates
Serra’s investigation of the themes of structural tension and the
relationship of sculpture to architecture. Donald Judd, whose
art emphasizes geometric form and seriality, also addresses
this relationship, studying the ways in which the elements of
sculpture, the intervening spaces and the site of installation
affect the viewer’s experience of the artwork, as can be seen
in Untitled.
If the Minimalists in this gallery are about form and volume, then
Baldessari’s A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation is about
rules and ideas—about the art object and modes of exchange.
Baldessari anticipates many of the appropriation-based tactics
of the 1970s and 1980s in his exploration of the (often humorous) methods of constructing the analysis of an endless array of
information. A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation is a consummate example of Baldessari’s economical, yet loaded, use of
text as painting and it challenges the notion of the artist as the
sole producer of meaning. A self-referential relation between art
object and its circulation is made explicit with instructions to
continue the production of the painting by adding to its list of
subsequent exhibitions, locking the concept of the painting into
the circular process of its own making and presentation.
The far section of the main gallery is occupied by Keith Tyson’s
The Block (part of Seven Wonders of the World series). Like the rest
of Tyson’s work, this ambitious piece (both in scale and conceptual base) is an intensely humanistic exploration of some
of the philosophical conundrums and the network of associations often left unengaged in contemporary art-making
practices. In The Block, Tyson continues his exploration of
life phenomena and, particularly, the degree to which we are
able to recognize and rationalize a relationship between any
particular historical truth and the larger system of the infinite and unknowable universe. At first glance, the sculpture
seems to be a simple reference to the Minimalist works in the
previous galleries, but Tyson does not simply present a reductive, machine-made form. The photographic images that
surround the sculpture trace The Block’s history in different
incarnations—chance events that have brought the artist into
being—images re-imagined and literally illustrated in the making and re-casting of the bronze.
Installed in the side gallery leading out of the main gallery are
Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #231 – The Location of a Quadrangle
and Tony Conrad’s Yellow Movie, 2/21 – 22/73. Sol LeWitt’s artistic production strikes a delicate balance between perceptual
and conceptual qualities in its dedication to the order of geom-
etry, as well as to the pursuit of visual beauty. The installation
of Wall Drawing #231 – The Location of a Quadrangle shows how
the simple geometric line interrelates with (and is affected by)
the format of the architectural environment of its installation.
Ironically, and though not the artist’s intent, the installation
also brings to mind the very genesis of art: the simple drawings
etched into cave walls in prehistoric times.
In the early 1970s, the experimental filmmaker Tony Conrad
sought to challenge the definition of film by exploring ways in
which he might extend “duration” over years, decades or a lifetime. Yellow Movie, 2/21 – 22/73, from the Yellow Movie series, is
illustrative of his investigation. In these works, large rectangles
of household paint, outlined by a black frame, simulate the
appearance of a movie screen. The paint itself acts as an emulsion of sorts, changing over time and tracing the activity of its
environment. Conrad has even suggested that this type of filmmaking extends to the architectural environment: in which the
paint on the walls records history on a monumental scale.
Bookending these galleries and linking to the themes of film
and temporality in Conrad’s work are Vito Acconci’s Stills
for Home Movies and Bruce Conner’s Eve-Ray-Forever. Like a
string of subliminal images, the intense, strobe-like effect of
Eve-Ray-Forever is somehow not far removed from Acconci’s
black and white photographs punctuated by chalked text.
Both of these works explore notions of otherness in popular
culture and reference theater, film and performance while also
connecting to the investigations and critiques found in Mike
Kelley’s practice.
The works in this exhibition are but a small selection of the
larger Stone collection. The Stones continue to collect today
with the same dedication and individuality as they have over the
last twenty years. Future installations at the Art Cave will explore
new ideas and expressions emerging in contemporary art.
Thea Westreich Art Advisory Services
October 27, 2007
Vito Acconci
Adjustable Wall Bra
1990
Vito Acconci
Stills for Home Movies
1973 – 1975
John Baldessari
A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation
1966 – 1968
Monica Bonvicini
Caged tool #1 (hammer drill)
2004
Bruce Conner
Eve-Ray-Forever
1965 / 2006
Tony Conrad
Yellow Movie, 2/21 – 22/73
1973
Dan Flavin
the diagonal of May 25, 1963
(to Robert Rosenblum)
1963
Donald Judd
Untitled
1978
Art © Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Mike Kelley
Antiqued
1987
Mike Kelley
Shift
1990
Mike Kelley
Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #22
(Picking a Mary)
2005
Mike Kelley
Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #31
(Mary Processional)
2005
Sol LeWitt
Wall Drawing #231 –
The Location of a Quadrangle
1974
Richard Serra
Sculpture – Black Triangle
1973
Richard Serra
Square Level Forged
1988
Robert Smithson
Non-Site
(Mica from Portland, Connecticut, 1968)
1968
Art © Estate of Robert Smithson/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Magazine Station n. 2, Receiving Station
2000
Keith Tyson
The Block
(part of Seven Wonders of the World series)
2007
Christopher Wool
Feet Don’t Fail Me Now
1995
Vito Acconci, Adjustable Wall Bra, 1990
Rebar, plaster, steel cable, canvas, lights and audio
96 x 288 x 60 inches
Courtesy of the Artist, Vito Acconci
Vito Acconci, Stills for Home Movies, 1973 – 1975
Colored chalks, spray paint and photo collage on paper
35¾ x 143¾ inches
Courtesy of the Artist, Vito Acconci
John Baldessari, A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation,
1966 – 1968
Acrylic on multiple canvases
Original canvas: 68 x 56X x 1 inches
Four additional canvases: ca. 34¼ x 56X x 1 inches each
Courtesy of John Baldessari
Monica Bonvicini, Caged tool #1 (hammer drill), 2004
Cage, metal grids, black power tool covered by black leather,
black leather belt, wall of bricks
94½ x 39W x 39W inches
Courtesy Galleria Emi Fontana, Milan and West of Rome,
Los Angeles
Bruce Conner, Eve-Ray-Forever, 1965 / 2006
Three-screen silent DVD projection, transferred from 8mm film
Dimensions variable
Courtesy Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles ©2007 Bruce Conner
Tony Conrad, Yellow Movie, 2/21 – 22/73, 1973
Emulsion: Oak low lustre floor enamel, Equity Interior-Exterior
Floor Enamel #245, Peerless Paint and Varish Corp.;
Base: Festival seamless paper
72 x 92V inches
Copyright Tony Conrad. Image courtesy Galerie Daniel
Buchholz, Koln and Greene Naftali Gallery, New York.
Dan Flavin, the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Robert Rosenblum), 1963
Cool white fluorescent light and casing
Length: 96 inches
© 2007 Stephen Flavin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Donald Judd, Untitled, 1978
Douglas fir plywood in four parts
29½ x 29½ x 29½ inches each
Mike Kelley, Antiqued, 1987
Wood, glass, mirror, books
75 x 33½ x 19 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Mike Kelley, Shift, 1990
Blanket, stuffed animals
83 x 89 x 7 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Mike Kelley, Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #22
(Picking a Mary), 2005
Black and white Piezo print on rag paper and color Chromogenic
print
66¾ x 40 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Mike Kelley, Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #31
(Mary Processional), 2005
Black and white Piezo print on rag paper and color Chromogenic
print
73½ x 30 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #231 – The Location of a Quadrangle, 1974
Black pencil description, black crayon quadrangle
First drawn by: Konrad Fischer, Sol LeWitt
First installation: Konrad Fischer, Düsseldorf, Germany
May, 1974
©2007 Estate of Sol LeWitt/Artists Rights Society (ARS),
New York. Image courtesy of PaceWildenstein, New York.
Richard Serra, Sculpture – Black Triangle, 1973
Crayon on cartridge paper
47Y x 213¾ inches
Richard Serra
Richard Serra, Square Level Forged, 1988
Forged steel in two blocks
69 x 7½ x 7½ inches each
Richard Serra
Robert Smithson, Non-Site (Mica from Portland, Connecticut, 1968),
1968
Wood painted black and mica
5 x 64¾ x 19 inches
Rirkrit Tiravanija, Magazine Station n. 2, Receiving Station, 2000
Aluminum tubes, tulle curtains
Overall: 109½ x 162½ inches
Courtesy Galleria Emi Fontana, Milan and West of Rome,
Los Angeles
Keith Tyson, The Block (part of Seven Wonders of the World series),
2007
Bronze casting and framed photographs
Block: 30½ x 30½ x 30½ inches
23 photos, each 43¼ x 31a/⁄fl x 1¾ inches
Courtesy of Keith Tyson Projects
Christopher Wool, Feet Don’t Fail Me Now, 1995
Enamel on aluminum
108 x 72 inches
Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York