For the past 6 months of been part of an art management company that leases out artwork to clients of various kinds. Below is an installation shot of All Memories are Traces of Tears installed in a fancy loft that someone was trying to sell. I had previously only exhibited this piece once at St. Cecilia’s in Brooklyn where I built a pedestal for it and showed it lying flat. I thought that laying it flat on a pedestal made it sculptural and, being that it was shown in an abandoned nunnery, made it seem like a religious object ready for contemplation. I don’t mind it being shown on the wall and even had it hanging in my studio, but without the ability to see it in the right perspective I find that it looses most of it’s excitement. I think that this is the problem with most art objects; once they are pulled out of their intended contexts they lose most of their original meaning, becoming aesthetic shells that serve someone else’s purpose. That being said, I certainly welcome most opportunities to show my work but find that more and more I have no control over any meaning for my work and am instead left with settling for whatever I can get.
Brian Higbee 