RELATIONAL AESTHETICS TAKES GAVIN BROWN'S VOLVO FOR A JOY RIDE

On Wednesday, two young artists took the movement known as Relational Aesthetics for a joyride. The artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, whom I've discussed before, has long explored the rich terrain of giving things away for free, of making interactions with art and other people possible, and of sharing. In his current show, he has upped the ante. Setting up a soup kitchen that provides soup for a dollar a bowl, he’s removed all the walls and windows of Gavin Brown's gallery, thus doing something Relational Aestheticians have been carrying on about for decades: He's rendered indoors and outdoors the same thing — in this case leaving the gallery open to anyone who wants to do anything, anytime.


That’s where artists Patricia Silva and Eric Anderson come in. When they visited, while perusing the soup kitchen and open walls, they spied Brown’s own 2009 Volvo parked inside the gallery — with the keys in the ignition. Anderson explains that “We didn’t know much about the show beyond the usual 'do as you please' side.” Silva adds, “The absence of authority made it feel so fresh.” How fresh? They spontaneously decided to go for a drive. “We were really impressed at the boldness of the artist and gallery for having such an anarchic level of interactivity. So we jumped in, pulled out, and took the Volvo up the West Side Highway. Hell yeah!” VULTURE