POST BY PADDY JOHNSON

Gelitin at Greene Naftali. Photo: AFC
Disclosure: This is the second draft of a post that was published for about half an hour before I decided to pull it, and try again. The lead was this:
Can someone explain to me why I shouldn’t find Gelitin’s Blind Sculpture happening at Greene Naftali supremely annoying? Admittedly I have not yet seen a live performance, but the arena set up for audiences who want to watch its members appear cross dressed and blindfolded fails to impress. Even with the help of star “assistants” the results are completely predictable: the place is a mess.
This wasn’t the best tone I’ve run with considering I haven’t seen the performance and was writing as if I knew enough about it to be knowledgeable, regardless. Bloggers who exhibit an ounce of humility aren’t nearly so annoying. Considering the piece is the performance, I’ll wait before I weigh in on the small amount I witnessed Saturday: A dude moving a tape measure around.
As I mentioned in the first draft of this post, the press release makes careful mention of the group’s “assistants” who are all art stars. This is the way art circles run I guess, but the casting still seems the most suspect part of the piece. What does Cecily Brown, Amy Sillman, and Tony Conrad add to the work that an unknown wouldn’t?
Some recent New York context: In 2005 the group launched human duplication machine at Leo Koenig Gallery, a piece in which they locked themselves inside a room for a week, and invited visitors to submit objects replication. It was the talk of the town. I’ve heard comparatively little buzz for this project, but it’s only been up since Thursday.
Related: 16 Miles actually saw the performance.

