Cady Noland at MuseumMMK Fur Moderne Kunst

The Brant Foundation Loan Program:

Cady Noland

October 27 – March 31, 2019

PRESS RELEASE: Violence finds its expression in modernity not only in social action, but also in omnipresent objects, installations and urban structures. The severity of aggression is formed in shape as well as material. The geometric rigidity suggests functionality, the reflected light of the metallic surfaces creates distance. The shape, luster and hardness of the resistant materials testify to strength and power, giving the objects an immediate brutality.

In her work Cady Noland exposes the violence that we encounter every day in scenarios of spatial and ideological demarcation. In doing so, she exposes the alleged neutrality of material and form. The seemingly sharp separation between objects and subjects becomes blurred; the incessant interactions become evident.

The American flag, charcoal grill, bridle, cowboy saddle and guns are symbols of American identity. However, the myth of the American dream, which Noland seems to take naively seriously, has become a globalized reality: glorification of violence, radical individualization, consumption as a drive and fulfillment, struggle through exclusion and demarcation. Barriers, gates and fences in their work bear witness to the physical and symbolic manifestations that create the public and exclude participation. Only prostheses, such as assistants, grapples and canes, open up the not “efficient” access to public life. On the other hand, forced participation in the public is imposed on many celebrities. Their involuntary objectification is the prerequisite for martial dealing with them.

https://www.mmk.art/de/whats-on/cady-noland/

PRESS:

Cady Noland’s Pathological America

The Picture of Little C.N. in a Prospect of Horrors – Bruce Hainley on the art of Cady Noland