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Tony Oursler at Metro Pictures

Cell Phone Diagrams and Cigarettes

By: - Mar 26, 2009

Oursler Oursler Oursler Oursler Ousler Oursler

Tony Oursler
Cell Phone Diagrams, Cigarettes, Searches and Scratch Cards
Through April 11
Metro Pictures
519 West 24th Street
NY, NY 10011
T 212 206 7100 F 212 337 0070

Upon entering the darkened first of several spaces at Metro Pictures in Chelsea we encounter a series of free standing, vertical, white tubes of uneven length. Projected onto these objects are video images of burning cigarettes of various brands.

Yet again we are intrigued by the seemingly endless variations of the artist Tony Oursler in an exhibition which remains on view at Metro Pictures through April 11.

Initially, what now seems eons ago, Oursler was one of the first to explore the possibilities of video projection. Primarily, this entailed distorted renderings of  individuals talking to us mostly about their ironic hang-ups. One of the most memorable of these involved a head seemingly stuck under the edge of a mattress. The character was evidently stressed to find itself so constrained. We were absorbed into and amused by this apparent confinement. Oursler had the ability to create characters and situations that  involved us,  and evoked compassion as well as humor. The artist conveyed the ability to create fresh and experimental work which was also accessible and entertaining. It has proved to be a successful combination.

As the work has evolved, and there are more and more artists using video projections, the wonder at his technical aspect has become less compelling. That has led the artist to dig deeper and more inventively to find ways to expand his aesthetic vocabulary while staying on message with style and signature touches.

With that in mind the Cigarette maze, we are encouraged to walk through it to reach other spaces, is fresh and inventive. Because there is no sound or text, an Oursler paradigm, we are initially thrown off track by this "silent movie." In the absence of the anticipated ironic narrative we have to provide our own text to interpret the meaning of those slowly smoldering vertical tubes of tobacco. There is an implication, but nothing specific, that makes us feel that smoking is bad for us. Indeed what are the additives to tobacco that allow cigarettes to keep burning? We know that they put something in the stuff. As a former smoker my take is that this is an anti smoking message. But to a committed smoker this montage of ersatz cigarettes might be quite monumental and wonderful. The power of the piece is that this time Oursler is less didactic but less amusing. This is, after all, a grim subject. Cigarettes kill.

In the next gallery are a variety of works including a series of heads of an African American woman in diminishing scale. There are several sculptural relief objects with video elements. In the center of the room is suspended an eight foot wide projection of a Five Dollar Bill in which Lincoln is mouthing off, literally, about something or other. On the far wall we find a hole that lets us look into the adjoining space at a model house. Walking around to that room we encounter a large projection of a cell phone located near the reception desk. It is spewing snippets of fragmented messages. We also found a stack of magazines that seemed to flip and turn.

While experimental this exhibition felt more eclectic and less cohesive than in the past. Not all of the works, some of which are quite deadpan, relief sculptures, proved to be particularly enticing. But while uneven this show was anchored by the Cigarette piece which conveyed Oursler at his most insightful and inventive.