Delusional Downtown Divas, Installation view, 2009, Photograph AFC, View the first episode here.
“I think by wearing the banana shirt you’re saying I’m the one with the penis, and also you’re wearing that kind of cut up banana fruit salad necklace so you’re kind of making references to bananas constantly which I think is kind of interesting”, AgNess approvingly tells Oona during a group fashion critique. It’s not the only time penises come up in the video series now screening at APF Lab on Wooster; in another episode, nearly every tree painting viewed is interpreted by one of the characters as penile, despite the artists instance that the work only dealt with trees. Not that this body part is critical to understanding the show; it’s just one of many chosen buzzwords used by a group of young women trying to enter and get ahead in the art world they were raised in. As such, critical and dryly distorted discussion of genitali, art and fashion (or as Isaac Mizrahi concludes in one scene, the meaning of life), guide the adventures of these three girls.
Presented by Art Production Fund and Index Magazine, the series contains a certain amount of autobiographical material. For instance, superstar artist Peter Halle and founder of Index Magazine is also the father of cast member Isabel Halley. “It’s the ultimate in art world nepotism!” a friend reported back to me. But of course, ultimately, he didn’t care. The work stands on its own, which is one thing connections don’t buy.
Exhibition on view through January 18th. 11-6 daily. Also, don’t miss their zine. I’ll be twittering their questionaire highlights through out the next couple of days.
“I think that fashion should be incredibly painful, like this choker, I actually really can’t breath right now. “
