By Andrew Russeth 6/08/12 10:46am

documenta 13

"Unbuilt Roads," edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist. (Courtesy Hatje Cantz Publishers)

Documenta 13′s Unrealized Projects

Documenta has a really nice history of attracting projects from artists that turn out to be too unwieldy or costly to realize, some of which are almost certainly designed to fail, like Alina Szapocznikow’s plan to make a double-sized Rolls Royce out of marble for the 1972 edition of the show. (The organizers told her they didn’t have the money and Rolls Royce politely declined sponsoring the sculpture, which she termed “completely useless, and a reflection of the god of supreme luxury.” Her correspondence with various people about the project has since been exhibited in various shows.) Read More

By Rozalia Jovanovic, Andrew Russeth and Dan Duray 4/09/12 10:27am

Happenings

8 Photos

SATURDAY | Opening: Malick Sidibé at Agnès B. Galerie Boutique

8 Things to Do in New York’s Art World Before April 16

MONDAY, APRIL 9

Artist Talk: “Subjective Histories of Sculpture: Josephine Meckseper”
Josephine Meckseper’s elaborate installations, photographs and videos explore the relationship between politics and consumer culture, particularly with respect to fashion and advertising, and the homogenizing effects of capitalism. Ms. Meckseper is next up in this lecture series, organized in collaboration with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at the New School, which aims to present histories that question convention and offer alternative ways for understanding the evolution of sculpture. —Rozalia Jovanovic
SculptureCenter, 44-19 Purves Street, Long Island City, 7 p.m. Read More

By Rozalia Jovanovic 3/29/12 5:06pm

open call

Collection of 'do it' publications. (Courtesy Independent Curators International)

Hans Ulrich Obrist and ICI Announce Last Call for ‘Do It’ Documentation

In 1993, curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and artists Christian Boltanski and Bertrand Lavier met up at Cafe Select in Paris and came up with an idea for an exhibition that would be called “Do It.” They would invite artists like Marina Abramovic, John Baldessari and Dara Birnbaum to contribute a set of instructions that could then be interpreted by other artists the way a musical score written by one composer is performed by other musicians. All three artists were interested in instruction, interpretation and translation as artistic principles. “‘Do It’ is less concerned with copies, images, or reproductions of artworks,” said Mr. Obrist in a 1996 introduction on e-flux, “than with human interpretation.” Almost 20 years later, 300 artists have contributed “officially” and there have been numerous “unofficial” productions worldwide, which inspired Mr. Obrist and Independent Curators International (ICI) to start compiling documentation on the evolution of the exhibition. Read More