Corporate Culture

Capitalism and contemporary art have had an enduring if not always complementary relationship. Nowadays, major corporations are expected to amass elaborate art collections as both investments and statements of cultural relevance. Typically, though, these collections — at least the works displayed in the public space of the lobby — are tame static images invoking little controversy. In its upcoming exhibit, “25 Years Later: Welcome to Art in General,” which opens on Thursday, the UBS Art Gallery is challenging this typical conformist approach.The gallery was originally created to provide New York area arts and cultural organizations a Midtown Manhattan exhibition space. Each year the gallery invites four organizations to participate in a consecutive series of exhibitions sponsored by the firm. This exhibit, though, is the first time UBS has included performance art and such an extensive number of interactive pieces.In describing the exhibit, Anne Barlow, the executive director of Art in General, a nonprofit organization that assists emerging artists with the production and presentation of new work, writes, “These are not monumental artworks asserting their visibility but function more like whispers, seducing viewers individually with their subtlety.” It seems fitting that as banking becomes increasingly virtual, interactive and transparent, the artwork in the banks’ lobbies would follow suit.Starting on Thursday, each bay of the UBS gallery will be occupied by the work of an individual artist — in many cases performance pieces involving the artists themselves — commissioned specifically for UBS by Art in General. The exhibition coincides with Art in General’s 25-year anniversary, with many of the pieces inviting audience participation in the spirit of its community-based roots. The content of the exhibition ranges from the personal to the political, with humorous and intimate pieces sprinkled among larger interactions between the interior space of the gallery and the exterior streetscape.In “Dedications,” the artist Alejandro Cesarco recorded himself reading the dedication pages of books from his personal library. His bay contains a group of small cubes on which visitors can sit, and has speakers affixed to each wall playing the recordings continuously. The warm and highly personal sentiments of the dedications create a poignant contrast to the cool space of the corporate lobby.A few bays down, Tim Hutchings takes on the corporate boardroom in his Live Action Role Playing (LARP) game, “All the President’s Zombies.” In this piece, Mr. Hutchins invites participants to play a role in the presidential cabinet and to react to plausible and fantastical catastrophes befalling America. Mr. Hutchings has fabricated a series of videos that will be played at key points throughout the game to illustrate catastrophes to be discussed and debated. The games will take place every Friday between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., and interested participants can sign up in the gallery or via e-mail.The team of artists known as Bik Van der Pol created an installation based upon Doug Richmond’s 1986 book “How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found.” Each morning two copies of the book will be put on display — one on an interior bench and another on an existing exterior marble bench directly outside. Depending upon levels of audience participation the books will presumably disappear by the end each day.The topic of disappearance is also addressed by the artists Chitra Ganesh and Mariam Ghani in their work “Index of the Disappeared,” in which the two explore the numerous detentions, deportations, and battles around borders and immigration in the political climate since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.Across the gallery is Ana Prvacki’s take on a money laundering service: Ms. Prvacki will personally clean your money one bill at a time with her “Money Laundering Wet Wipes.” In cleaning each note by hand, Ms. Pravacki provides her clients with money “fresh enough to use as a face wipe.” With her elegantly designed cleaning cart and beauty-product-ready wet wipes, this installation cleverly prods at the sanitized intersection of wealth, beauty, and youth.This exhibit raises a compelling proposition: If more corporate institutions considered supporting experimental work, perhaps a walk through the lobbies of Midtown might be more exciting.Until November 9 (1285 Sixth Ave., between 51st and 52nd streets, 212-713-2885).

Corporate Culture

Corporate Culture

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