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Hatoum's Selections find True Definition outside Museum
by Anna Kozanecka

On Sunday night when I was robbed at gunpoint at my house doorstep, Gonzalez-Torres' Untitled (Death by Gun) took on a more meaningful significance. His work, a stack of photolithographs, 44 1/2 by 32 1/2", is a chronicle of deaths by gun in the United States during one week in May.

Gonzalez-Torres' work, on display until February 2nd at the Museum of Modern Art, is part of an exhibition called Here is Elsewhere, curated by Mona Hatoum. Hatoum whose own work focuses on the instability of birthplace, shifts in gender roles and power dynamics  takes her opportunity as the sixth artist in the museum's Artist Choice series to select work from MoMA's permanent collection.

The five-room show pulls one in, whispering in robber-esque tones: Don't say anything. Come with me. The pieces in the first room(s) depending on which side one enters can take one by surprise. David Hammon's High Falutin' appears to be a basketball hoop with chandelier lights and brings forth neutral comments like the hesitant, okay.' (Others attempt to accept it as it is a basketball hoop with chandelier lights.)

A piece in the later rooms a video installation by Bruce Nauman sums up what Mona Hatoum must be pleading from her viewers: to think! Of course, the constant reverberation of the word almost warns of the opposite as well; think too much and your thoughts will be just as clouded and unclear as the word "think" becomes after being repeated infinite times.

Here is Elsewhere addresses issues of various sorts: human relationships, crime, indiscreet politics and individuality. A certain stasicity' environment forgive me, the term is inspired by Jane and Louise's video/sound installation titled Stasi City where like the objects in the video float, so should each viewer rise above society's definitions, standards and expectations. The juxtaposition of Prison Window and Open Playpen, both works by Robert Gober, present a beautiful contradiction: imprisonment versus freedom. The different mediums of the work paper, print, wood, film, photographs, and linens, among others , also compliment the variety of styles showcased in the work.

It is difficult to leave the museum completely satisfied. Declaring, I like it, is very much based on an understanding or connection with the work. Automatic connection in art is difficult but it is not necessarily key. Works like Gonzalez-Torres' "Untitled" (Death by Gun) and "Untitled" (USA: Today), a collection of red, white and blue candies heaped into a corner, help reinforce the idea of outside thinking and influence. Take the art with you, Hatoum says, ponder it on the way home. Look at the selections, at the groupings and file in the remnants of memory an image. Brainstorm and list questions. The best art, according to Hatoum, "is that which [lets] you walk away with more questions than answers."

Read David Wojnarowicz's Untitled, a piece on the effects of one kid's' actions. (Subconciously) listen to Bruce Nauman's Think video installation. Amuse yourself with the boldness of some titles like Gabriel Orozco's Horsehit or Cheryl Donegan's sexually suggestive single channel video, Head.

On the 7-train home, someone may stump you with a good question. Respond with: Here is Elsewhere. Hatoum's selections find true meaning outside the museum. In other words, most of what is physically here [at MoMA] can only be completed with the addition of personal experience, hence the idea that here' is indeed elsewhere.'

I dearly hope something other than robbers and guns may inspire you.

Explanation: The review is clearly not written for a formal arts magazine; rather it is for the common artsman, a person that respects art and seeks to let herself become affected by it. The informality of it (because of its basis on emotion and personal experience) would most likely make it appropriate for perhaps a New York Times review. (My use of paragraphs and parentheses has been over the past few years inspired by the NY Times format.) The use of simple language, yet slightly complex sentence structure, coupled with my approach to the review, would appeal specifically to young persons who, like I said, are interested in being challenged by an exhibition, where not getting it is not necessarily a deterrent. (People looking for a technical description or analysis of the work will not find it here, but will instead be presented with my interpretation of various works.)