Modern Painters

FROM TOP: PETER HARRIS; JOAN SEMMEL AND ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK. OPPOSITE, FROM TOP: JIMMY LIMIT; PETER HARRISBLOUINARTINFO.COM JUNE/JULY 2016 MODERN PAINTERS 101``````DALLAS``````“Black Sheep Feminism”Dallas Contemporary // January 16–March 20``````WITH A SELECTION of artists and a curatorial premise seem-LQJO\LQÁXHQFHGE\5LFKDUG0H\HU·VHVVD\ ́+DUG7DUJHWV0DOH%RGLHV)HPLQLVW$UWDQGWKH)RUFHRI&HQVRUVKLSLQWKHVμIRUWKHMOCA/RV$QJHOHV ́:$&.μH[KLELWLRQFDWDORJXH ́%ODFN6KHHS)HPLQLVPμIRFXVHVRQWKHVH[XDOO\H[SOLFLWZRUNE\IHPLQLVWDUWLVWVWKDWZDVFHQVRUHGLQWKH·VVRPHRIZKLFKZDVHUDVHGWRWKHSRLQWWKDWLWZDVH[FOXGHGIURPWKHKLVWRU\RIIHPLQLVWDUWDOWRJHWKHU$GMXQFWFXUDWRU$OLVRQ*LQJHUDVOLNH0H\HUFRQVLGHUVWKHZRUNRI-RDQ6HPPHO%HWW\7RPSNLQV&RVH\)DQQL7XWWLDQG$QLWD6WHFNHÓHURWLFDOO\DXGDFLRXVμIRUWKHZD\VWKHVHDUWLVWVIRFXVRQWKHDFWRISHQHWUDWLRQKHWHURVH[XDOXQLRQSKDOOLFLPDJHU\DQGWKHSRUQRJUDSKLF7KHZRUNLVLQFUHGLEOHWKHH[KLELWLRQLWVHOIKRZHYHUDWWHPSWVWRNHHSWKHÀUHRIVHQVDWLRQDOLVPEXUQLQJLQDZRUOGWKDWLVQ·WVRHDVLO\VFDQGDOL]HG7RGD\6HPPHO·VSDLQWLQJVVKRFNOHVVEHFDXVHRIWKHLUVXEMHFWPDWWHUWKDQEHFDXVHRIWKHSLQNV\HOORZVJUHHQVDQGSXUSOHVVXEVWLWXWHGIRUVNLQWRQHV&RPELQHGZLWKWKHREOLTXHDQJOHVLQZKLFKRQHHQFRXQWHUVWKHFRXSOHGERGLHVWKHUHVXOWUHVHPEOHVDQDOLHQODQGVFDSHRIFRQWRUWHGDFLGWLQJHGÁHVK+HDGVDUHDOZD\VFURSSHGRXWRIWKHLPDJH·VIUDPHDQGWKHSHUVSHFWLYHRISDLQWLQJVOLNHTouchUHYHDOWKDWWKHDUWLVWLVKROGLQJWKHFDPHUDXSWRKHUH\HWRWDNHDSLFWXUHGRZQWKHOHQJWKRIKHUDQGKHUORYHU·VERGLHV7KXVWKHÀJXUH·VKHDGOHVVQHVVLVWKHPDUNRIWKHDUWLVW·VWDNLQJDJHQF\LQIDVKLRQLQJKHURZQLPDJHDVDVH[XDOEHLQJ)RUKHUVHULHVRI ́)XFN3DLQWLQJVμ7RPSNLQVDOVRFURSSHGWKHIDFHVRIKHUVXEMHFWVWR]RRPLQFORVHRQSKRWRJUDSKVFXOOHGIURPKHUIRUPHUKXVEDQG·VSRUQVWDVK7RPSNLQV·VJRDO``````recently been adaptingobject-oriented ontology totheir own ends, breakingdown the conceptualdistinction between theuniverse of things and theuniverse of people. Here,instead of a world of things,networks of money areimbued with consciousness,possessing the ability(here, quite literally) to addressthe beholder—an eeriecounterpoint to the legalconstruct of corporatepersonhood. In other words,capital (or lack thereof ) doesthe talking. The scammersanimate a kind of neocolonialpresent, strategically flatter-ing Western liberal guilt andprojected orientalist fantasies.In another work, Geometryof Space, 2014, Hadjithomasand Joreige map this peculiarnetwork with a cartographicmethod, wrapping steelrods around an absent globeto trace the geographictrajectories between scammerand reader. These correspon-dences, however, are not``````always one-directional. Inthe next room, modernistglass sheets—evokingLina Bo Bardi’s 1968 designfor the Museu de Artede São Paulo—and long wallscrolls showcase schemesplotted by “scam baiters,”who essentially scam thescammer, by dressing up assuperheroes, or perhapsmaking art, to prove theirgood faith, all for their owncruel amusement.Trust is abused through-out the entire show, exceptin the last room, where againwe meet the actors fromRumor of the World. A halfdozen of them tell theiractual life stories in shortfilms, tales of migration anddispossession in Lebanon(where the artists are alsofrom). Some of the immi-grants are without papersand have been separatedfrom family, a realityfrom which the quicksilvermovement of the digital“rumors” feels devastatinglyremoved. —Noelle Bodick``````LEFT:JoanaHadjithomasand KhalilJoreigeThe Rumor ofthe World, 2014.38 HD videosand 13 monitors.BELOW:Joan SemmelTouch, 1975.Oil on canvas,57 x 103 in.