The Most Splendid Apocalypse

P·P·O·W is delighted to present the Most Splendid Apocalypse, an exhibition curated by Jason Murison.

Arists included are: Kamrooz Aram, Dotty Attie, Matthew Brannon, Jesse Bransford, Melissa Brown, Lorenzo De Los Angeles, Barnaby Furnas, Van Hanos, Mala Iqbal, Philip Jones, Seth Kelly, Karsten Krejcarek, Tony Matelli, Keith Mayerson, Steve Mumford, Adam Putnam, Noah Sheldon, Roger White, Amy Wilson, Ivan Witenstein

It’s always useful to take note of a moment when civilization is coming to an end. I think it is now. As evidence, one can just turn on the television and watch: Iraq, the war on terrorism, the prolonged death of Terry Schiavo, reality TV. Depending on whom you consult, a quite stunning end is near. On one side, the religious right are counting up each of these events as divine signs, while those on the liberal left are stringing these occurrences together, eager for a supreme vengeance after the awful second when their era had passed.

If one observes our current political/cultural situation from the vantage point of the powerless, it is not a surprise that the past can be described in terms of conspiracy and the future through visions of apocalypse. This is reaffirmed when, as we are often reminded, we are entering the third year of a two-pronged war effort. The first war is psychological, consisting of covert operations and fear mongering. The other is on the ground in the Middle East, reaching us at all times through a 24-hour news cycle. The dread in the air created by the former is punctuated by the images of the later. Artists have responded not by engaging head-on in politics like those in the late eighties did, rather, they are creating artworks that have shifted to darker themes, tones, and moods.

Art, unlike the publicity-seeking stunts of Janet Jackson and Howard Stern’s FCC bravado, is reflecting the melancholy of our times without the moral compass. Artists have turned the once razzle-dazzle of the nineties into conspiratorial kaleidoscope of desert battlefields and ruins of once-great civilizations, power-hungry demons and avenging angels. Take your pick and envision your own most splendid apocalypse.

Society has always had a mysterious thirst for cataclysm; and every once and a while in our short history, The End is quite near. It manifests itself in many ways: as Revelation, Rapture, the Great Awakening, or maybe just through a speeding asteroid or the push of a red button into nuclear super-annihilation. History has spoken, and we are still here. One must always remember: even if you can make the connections between signs, facts and coincidences, it does not mean that they are correct.

The Most Splendid Apocalypse
Kurator: Jason Murison

Künstler: Kamrooz Aram, Dotty Attie, Matthew Brannon, Jesse Bransford, Melissa Brown, Lorenzo De Los Angeles, Barnaby Furnas, Van Hanos, Mala Iqbal, Philip Jones, Seth Kelly, Karsten Krejcarek, Tony Matelli, Keith Mayerson, Steve Mumford, Adam Putnam, Noah Sheldon, Roger White, Amy Wilson, Ivan Witenstein