Douglas Ross on Rosemarie Trockel
Sunday 15 July, 2012
6 - 8pm, $0
Artists Institute
163 Eldridge Street
Telling stories is a good way to express one’s appreciation. A good toast always involves a good story, right? Because the best way to talk about someone is to talk next to them.
We end our season with two short stories by the artist Douglas Ross. They are about Rosemarie Trockel, or perhaps it’s better to say that they feature a character named Rosemarie.
The first story is about adaptation (more than appropriation) and empathy (more than irony). It begins with a photograph of a man in a cardigan, posing with his dog, Boca. The man is dead now, but he was once considered one of the foremost experts on the Rorschach test. Most people see those symmetrical inkblots as part- human and part-animal. Most of this story is about animals.
The second story is about how to live one’s way out of envelopes. It involves Maya, the character from the British TV program Space 1999, a seemingly female but shape-shifting life form who could transform herself into anything.
It involves Marcel Aymé’s short story, “The Ubiquitous Wife”, where a married homemaker realizes she can accomplish more in a day if she divides herself into multiple people—but her powers lead her astray. It even involves the doctor who blamed Ulrike Meinhof’s desire to revolt on an early unsuccessful brain operation. This story is mostly about freedom.
Douglas concludes with a public statement by the playwright and theater director Marlene Streeruwitz, entitled “In the next Millennium, everything will be better.” Cheers to that.
On July 15th, 2012, a closing reception for the season, with a brand new drawing by Rosemarie Trockel, short stories by Douglas Ross, and cold drinks.
We end our season with two short stories by the artist Douglas Ross. They are about Rosemarie Trockel, or perhaps it’s better to say that they feature a character named Rosemarie.
The first story is about adaptation (more than appropriation) and empathy (more than irony). It begins with a photograph of a man in a cardigan, posing with his dog, Boca. The man is dead now, but he was once considered one of the foremost experts on the Rorschach test. Most people see those symmetrical inkblots as part- human and part-animal. Most of this story is about animals.
The second story is about how to live one’s way out of envelopes. It involves Maya, the character from the British TV program Space 1999, a seemingly female but shape-shifting life form who could transform herself into anything.
It involves Marcel Aymé’s short story, “The Ubiquitous Wife”, where a married homemaker realizes she can accomplish more in a day if she divides herself into multiple people—but her powers lead her astray. It even involves the doctor who blamed Ulrike Meinhof’s desire to revolt on an early unsuccessful brain operation. This story is mostly about freedom.
Douglas concludes with a public statement by the playwright and theater director Marlene Streeruwitz, entitled “In the next Millennium, everything will be better.” Cheers to that.
On July 15th, 2012, a closing reception for the season, with a brand new drawing by Rosemarie Trockel, short stories by Douglas Ross, and cold drinks.
