$ITE $EEING: EXHIBITION$

Today in Douglas Ross's class, we paid a visit to Talwar Gallery on E 18th Street to view Excerpts from Diary Pages, which housed works by seven Indian artists spanning three generations.

Our next stop was the Federal Reserve Bank in Lower Manhattan. We looked at its exhibition of coins. An exhibition, extracted from the white cube, gallery space changes how viewers approach and view the pieces, or "artifacts", which I would consider the coins at the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve collection was a repository of information centralized on American currency, its history, and the pride associated with it.

The third point of interest was the Museum of American Finance that had incorporated some of the current news regarding the financial/economic climate in its exhibition space. The history of the New York Stock Exchange, American banking, and entrepreneurship, as well as the current understanding of the present economy left us with more information about the American economic system, but rather than dispelling its weaknesses and failures the Museum put them on display.

Lastly, we stopped at 21st st to see Adam McEwen's Switch & Bait exhibition. Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery had rented out this separate space to house McEwen's installation. He hung "fluorescent" lights clad with graphite bulbs in rows across the ceiling to fill the otherwise empty, dilapidated space (images). Another room showcased a single American Express credit card cast in graphite, entitled "Self-portrait as a credit card". After seeing two sites so deeply enshrouded in the idea of the American Dollar and its value or lack thereof, it was hard not to draw conclusions about the exhibition presenting a stark outlook to the American economy. The use of an American Express card makes the connection almost unavoidable. Paired with the material choice of graphite--its cold, heavy quality, gives the installation a dark, foreboding tone. The lights are turned off, or never worked in the first place, or are never to be lit again--the credit card is cold to the touch, not having been used or not usable in our seemingly bleak future. This installation, hidden behind a deceivingly not-abandoned warehouse seemed to point to the idea that this dismal future is still unknown to the masses.

But...it was too sunny and beautiful of a day for a rather depressing exhibition to dampen our moods. We decided that eating burgers and drinking lemonade at a local burger joint was not a bad idea. So a couple of us went and had a nice snack. Mmm.