Hashtagclass
Encyclopedia
#class was a month-long series of events at Winkleman Gallery in New York
that took place between February 20 to March 20, 2010 organized by artists William Powhida
and Jennifer Dalton
. The exhibition combined social media and networking with a physical gallery space.
Edward Winkleman, owner of Winkleman Gallery, suggested in an interview with art critic Brian Sherwin
for FineArtViews that #class would have failed to have the same impact if the events had been displayed exclusively online. Winkleman implied that the meshing between online social media and a brick & mortar gallery space conveyed the "real intent" of the artists’ behind #class.
The #class exhibition coincided with the opening of a controversial exhibition at the New Museum showcasing artwork owned by longtime trustee Dakis Joannou
, a prolific collector of works by artists like Kiki Smith
, Kara Walker
and Jeff Koons
. Jen Dalton described the show as “a sort of a think tank
or classroom. We want to facilitate a conversation about where the art world
is and class in the art world.”
#class invited guest artists, critics
, academics, dealers
, collectors and anyone else who would like to participate to examine the way art is made and seen in our culture and to identify and propose alternatives and/or reforms to the current market system. The name "#class" was taken from the practice on Twitter
of placing a "#" known as a hash tag to mark a tweet as part of a discussion. The name of the exhibition references the social media
phenomenon that has been called crowdsourcing
.
The exhibition concluded on March 20 with "Rant Night" in which everyone was encouraged to come and let it rip on whatever was still bothering them.
The artists produced work during the exhibition that responded to the information, events and discussions that took place. The work was not priced in the usual commercial manner, premised on 'what the market will bear' based on their past work and reputations. Instead, the artists offered suggested guidelines for appropriate prices, such as one day of the buyer's income from his or her job, 0.1% of his or her net worth, etc.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
that took place between February 20 to March 20, 2010 organized by artists William Powhida
William Powhida
William Powhida is a visual artist and former art critic born in 1976 in New York. His work addresses the contemporary art industry.Topics have included creating an "enemies" list as well as letters addressed to contemporary curators , collectors and critics, requesting recognition...
and Jennifer Dalton
Jennifer Dalton
Jennifer Dalton is a contemporary artist born in 1967.Dalton is represented by Winkleman Gallery in New York City, where she has exhibited since 2002...
. The exhibition combined social media and networking with a physical gallery space.
Edward Winkleman, owner of Winkleman Gallery, suggested in an interview with art critic Brian Sherwin
Brian Sherwin
Brian Sherwin is an American art critic, writer, and blogger with a degree from Illinois College in 2003. Sherwin is the Senior Editor for the artist social networking site myartspace, where he has written an extensive interview series with emerging and established visual artists...
for FineArtViews that #class would have failed to have the same impact if the events had been displayed exclusively online. Winkleman implied that the meshing between online social media and a brick & mortar gallery space conveyed the "real intent" of the artists’ behind #class.
The #class exhibition coincided with the opening of a controversial exhibition at the New Museum showcasing artwork owned by longtime trustee Dakis Joannou
Dakis Joannou
Dakis Joannou born 1941 is a Greek Cypriot industrialist and art collector based in Greece. He owns hotels and a construction business and has been a major international distributor of Coca-Cola "across 27 countries, from Greece to Switzerland to Russia to Nigeria."-Life and career:Joannou is...
, a prolific collector of works by artists like Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith is an American artist classified as a feminist artist, a movement with beginnings in the twentieth century...
, Kara Walker
Kara Walker
Kara Walker is a contemporary African American artist who explores race, gender, sexuality, violence and identity in her work. She is best known for her room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes, such as The Means to an End--A Shadow Drama in Five Acts.-Biography:Walker was born in...
and Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
. Jen Dalton described the show as “a sort of a think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
or classroom. We want to facilitate a conversation about where the art world
Art world
The art world is composed of all the people involved in the production, commission, preservation, promotion, criticism, and sale of art. Howard S. Becker describes it as "the network of people whose cooperative activity, organized via their joint knowledge of conventional means of doing things,...
is and class in the art world.”
#class invited guest artists, critics
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
, academics, dealers
Art dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers' professional associations serve to set high standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions and shows.-Role:...
, collectors and anyone else who would like to participate to examine the way art is made and seen in our culture and to identify and propose alternatives and/or reforms to the current market system. The name "#class" was taken from the practice on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
of placing a "#" known as a hash tag to mark a tweet as part of a discussion. The name of the exhibition references the social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
phenomenon that has been called crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
.
Events
- El Celso performed an "Art Shred"
- Hrag VartanianHrag VartanianHrag Vartanian was born in Aleppo, Syria, raised in Toronto, Canada, and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. He is a writer, critic and curator who regularly contributes to AGBU News Magazine, Ararat Magazine, and other publications...
of the blogazine Hyperallegic invited visitors to reveal who owes them money in an event called "$ecrets of the New York Art World." - Mira SchorMira SchorMira Schor is an American artist, writer, editor, and educator, known for her contributions to the critical discourse on the status of painting in contemporary art and culture as well as to feminist art history and criticism.-Early life and education:Mira Schor's parents Ilya and Resia Schor were...
, artist and author of the book A Decade of Negative Thinking: Essays on Art, Politics, and Daily Life delivered a lecture "On Failure and Anonymity" - "Investigating Personal Obstacles to Creativity" performance by Lisa Levy
- WNYCWNYCWNYC is a set of call letters shared by a pair of co-owned, non-profit, public radio stations located in New York City.WNYC broadcasts on the AM band at 820 kHz, and WNYC-FM is at 93.9 MHz. Both stations are members of National Public Radio and carry distinct, but similar news/talk programs...
art critic and CMonstah blogger Carolina Miranda lead visitors in "Art Yoga" - Q & A with Postmasters dealer Magda Sawon
- new media duo Jennifer & Kevin McCoy offered a "Collector Focus Group"
- Artist Yevgeniy FiksYevgeniy FiksYevgeniy Fiks is a New York-based, Post-Soviet conceptual artist. He was born in Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1972 and has since been living and working in New York City since his immigration in 1994...
held a lecture/presentation entitled, "Communist Modern Artist and the Market," showing how many of the most highly valued art of the 20th century were produced by artists who considered themselves communists (Picasso, Leger, Kahlo, Rivera and more). - Artist Man Bartlett staged "24h #class action" in which he and others blew up balloons for 24 hours and then popped them all. These were long skinny balloons that would never turn into cute little Jeff Koons balloon dogs.
The exhibition concluded on March 20 with "Rant Night" in which everyone was encouraged to come and let it rip on whatever was still bothering them.
The artists produced work during the exhibition that responded to the information, events and discussions that took place. The work was not priced in the usual commercial manner, premised on 'what the market will bear' based on their past work and reputations. Instead, the artists offered suggested guidelines for appropriate prices, such as one day of the buyer's income from his or her job, 0.1% of his or her net worth, etc.