Amsterdam Endless Installation, A Ghost Story for Adults at SMART Project Space 21/03/09 - 26/04/09
Curator and critic Simon Sheikh makes regular guest appearances in the Netherlands. The occasion for his lecture F for fake: Notes on the signature, authorship and authority is the exhibition Endless Installation: A Ghost Story for Adults by Public Space With A Roof (PSWAR).
What drives the fervent use of the alias in contemporary art? Will Bradley investigates the origin of the pseudonym tracing it back to political activism in the 19th century, when the pen name functioned as a means to fight against various forms of injustice. Today the battle has been won, certainly in the arts, but the nom de plume persist. Who is this modern-day third person?
In December 2005 Barry Covats (Colorado, 1931) returned, albeit more in the form of an arts patron than an artist, launching the first annual Barry Covats Award for Future Promise at the HISK. He divides his time now between Brussels and Amsterdam. Maxine Kopsa spoke with him about the downfall of pretty pictures, the myth of palpable achievements, inaction and insurrection.
