MINI/GOETHE-INSTITUT CURATORIAL RESIDENCIES LUDLOW 38
38 LUDLOW STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10002
T 212-228-6848, WWW.LUDLOW38.ORG
James Gregory Atkinson & Helen
Demisch, Doug Ashford, Andy Coolquitt,
Flaka Haliti, Lena Henke
– The problem today is not the other
but the self
February 22 - April 5, 2015
Opening: February 22, 6-8pm
MINI/Goethe-Institut Curatorial Residencies
Ludlow 38 is pleased to present The problem
today is not the other but the self, the first
exhibition of this year’s program. Featuring
works by James Gregory Atkinson & Helen
Demisch, Doug Ashford, Andy Coolquitt, Flaka
Haliti, and Lena Henke, The problem today is not
the other but the self is dedicated to artistic
productions that question the current status of
subjective freedom and reflect about related
issues in open processes. The exhibition runs
through April 5, 2015.
The problem today is not the other but the self is
concerned with questions arising from the
increasing neo-liberalization of society and
digitalization of communication. Both processes
thrive on our belief in individual freedom and are
products and engines for political agendas and a
free market economy. Yet, instead of a boundless
surge in freedom, we are currently witnessing a
crisis in our subjective experience of freedom.
Chronic depression, excessive demands on
sensory perception, and burnout syndrome are
some of the consequences of this development.
The exhibition title is based on the essays of
philosopher Byung-Chul Han, in which he
describes our constant striving for freedom and
self-realization as a social constraint. According
to Han, virtual self-marketing has become a form
of self-exploitation and, in the process, the
“disciplinary society” that philosopher Michel
Foucault described in 1975 has transitioned into a
“society of self-discipline.” In this system, an
individual’s opponent is no longer “the other,”—
the individuals themselves have transformed into
their own enemies.
The problem today is not the other but the self
thus gathers six artists of different generations
whose works reflect on the themes of freedom,
powerlessness, and neoliberalism.
ENG / DE
Andy Coolquitt creates expansive installations
of found materials and objects, which he calls
“somebody-mades” and “in-betweens.” He
arranges these mostly discarded and forgotten
objects in site-specific compositions that redefine
spaces and pathways. The works of Doug
Ashford combine painterly abstraction with
political intention in a constant search for the
origins of empathy. His video Untitled Film
(2013) shows—in slow motion—pornographic
scenes where the explicit material is overlaid with
fields of color. The wall works Madison Street,
Jefferson Ave, and Halsey Street (2013) by
Lena Henke are casts of facade structures from
the Brooklyn neighborhood of BedfordStuyvesant. Her works reflect urban development
concepts, urban design, and “third places” as
snapshots of a time when self-initiative and
self-responsibility embodied hope for a better
future.
The artist Andy Coolquitt and the artist duo
James Gregory Atkinson & Helen Demisch
contributed new site-specific works for this
exhibition.