Vienna. Over the last few years, the notion that language in its manifold forms – as printed text, painted sign, the writing on the wall, recorded speeches etc.– was an essential component in art of the 1960s has become a topos in the critical reception of art comprising a critique of institutions, as well in responses to conceptual art, Fluxus or Pop Art. In this context the emancipation of the text is addressed on an equal footing with the idea of a new »conceptual« aesthetic. The notes in language form produced by John Cage are often held to have played a pioneering role in defining this aesthetic, particularly »4’33’’«, a piece whose artistic status is analysed thoroughly by Liz Kotz in her book »Words to Be Looked At. Language in 1960s Art« (MIT 2007). The work created in the 60s in the USA and Europe in the context of the relationship between linguistic and visual representation can however scarcely be described as displaying an excessively spectacular aesthetic, although notes by Cage do move in this direction, George Maciunas was a graphic designer and the aesthetic associated with Seth Siegelaub was also rather particular. Form as form was often subordinated to other concerns and frequently viewed as a means to an end, as for example in the case of Alighiero Boetti for whom linguistic signs, the alphabet and numbers in the postal system were categorised amongst the »cose primarie« and served as material in his works on a case-by-case basis. Indubitably in many instances and particularly in the case of Lawrence Weiner or Joseph Kosuth, to cite just two examples, there was also a poetical aspect, albeit of lesser importance than other references.
In her first exhibition as the new director and curator of the Generali Foundation, Sabine Folie portrays the topic of text and image from a stance diametrically opposed to this. She relies on the »explosive poetic force« of language as she constructs an exhibition around Stéphane Mallarmé and Marcel Broodthaers as the forerunners of avant-garde poetry: »Un coup de dés« is the title of Stéphane Mallarmé’s 1897 poem, to which Broodthaers dedicated a homage in 1969, reflecting his broad respect for the Symbolist poet as the »founder of contemporary art«. Alongside Broodthaers and Mallarmé, the exhibition also includes works by Robert Barry, Lothar Baumgarten, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Rodney Graham, Ulrike Grossarth, Jaroslaw Kozlowski, David Lamelas, Eva Partum, Gerhard Rühm, Klaus Scherübel, Dominik Steiger, Ana Torfs, Peter Tscherkassky, Joëlle Tuerlinckx and Ian Wallace. Folie is therefore not subjecting the core areas of the foundation’s collection to scrutiny here. Instead she is setting the visual paraphrase of Mallarmé-Broodthaers in a much broader temporal context, which also encompasses a broad spectrum of artistic positions. At the centre of her attention we find the »movement of the letters along with a heightening of the allusive and deconstructive characteristics of language« (press release). The visual manifestation of language as writing only appears to become interesting if special typesetting and spacing are deployed, with the latter being evidenced by Lewis Carroll and his »Hunting of the Snark. An Agony in Eight Fits«, which constitutes a further reference to the 19th century.
At the start of her trip through the »world of the alphabet, the innocent letter«, Folie sets a quotation from Roland Barthes, referring to precisely those innocent letters, which embark upon a poetic route rather than going down the avenue of discourse. Barthes talks of the natural state of the letter, which is not abandoned until letters begin to form words. Within this exhibition, this invocation of the »natural state« is more than misleading, for the prime focus is on language as a disruptive element, as a confusing typographical formation or as a critical deconstruction. Wasn’t it after all not the literary world but rather the realm of the fine arts that took a more reflective approach to the whole business? The Cubists’ figurations made up of letters or those by Marcel Duchamp are interjected between the work of Mallarmé and Broodthaers. The »natural state« of Duchamp’s letters and his L.H.O.O.Q. has long been unveiled and particularly Georges Braque’s first insertions of letters into his artworks in 1909 were bold manoeuvres within the square frame of the image and were endowed with a great deal of subversive potential over and above any literary ambitions. His sequences of letters might contain concealed meanings and furthermore he is charmed by the two-dimensionality of letters, a characteristic well-suited to counteract demands that painting should be three-dimensional and thus serves as a disruptive element.
In the exhibition Ewa Partum’s work »Active Poetry« from 1971/73 adopts more or less the converse of this approach by dissecting works of world literature into white paper letters and scattering these in the world of nature, thus producing an artificial »natural state« that Barthes would probably have liked. Many important works by Broodthaers are on display, concentrating in keeping with the theme on smaller formats, publications and text works, but also including the film »La Pluie (Projet pour un texte)« or the works »Images d’Epinal« and «ABC-ABC Image«. Frequently the exhibition shows a series of works with very different approaches, where the title of the exhibition is the lowest common denominator uniting them. For example, works by Kozlowski, Hak Kyung Cha, Partum and Lamelas are shown in the same room, although Lamelas might be said to fit rather better into the category of lecture-performances. All in all they scarcely recall the humour and irony that Broodthaers injected into the severe 1960s, and certainly have nothing in common with Mallarmé or Carroll. Instead in many respects these artworks comply with the critical demands of linguistic and visual representation described at the start of this review and in addition include other essential points of reference beyond the scope of the topics addressed in the exhibition.
Translated by Helen Ferguson