Possible pretense in ‘Pretending to Pretend’

by Clea Felien

No Name Exhibitions at the Soap Factory has always shown a wide variety of art and artists. Shows have been both incredible and at times less than incredible—that’s above average considering the sheer volume of art that gets shown there. The Soap Factory is a mini-museum, or mall of galleries. Its large, cavernous raw space goes on for what seems like miles. Hence a lot of artists get a lot of space, which can be very creative, and at times a little chaotic. 
The current No Name show is called “Pretending to Pretend.” Before you go, be sure to put your thinking cap on. The premise behind “Pretending to Pretend” is that eight artists have come together to alter our consciousness of what art is, what a gallery is, what the board of a gallery is, what curating art is, etc. 
Matt Bakkom creates a boardroom-like presentation of what he would do with the gallery space, turning it into a visionary international studio program. Beautiful photos and elaborate drawings diagram the space and show where and how this utopia would come about. Phil Docken has created fictitious comments about the show and attributed them to famous and infamous people, such as:

“There is wisdom here.” 
— Ernie Kovacs. 
“It’s not about the art.” 
—Lance Armstrong. 
“…a brilliant dissection of the politics of aesthetics.” 
—Ludwig Wittgenstein. 

Very clever, though perhaps not as accessible as it could be.
“Two Charleys” are two videos that run simultaneously and are placed next to each other. Both were made without knowledge of the other’s existence. Both were made by a guy named Charley (Charley Friedman and Charley Goldman). Both consist solely of a Charley smiling unflinchingly into the video camera for one solid hour. “Two Charleys” is fascinating, and extremely entertaining. 
Alison Gerber’s piece consists of business cards with the phone numbers, e-mail etc. of all the artists, board members, curators, staff and every one involved in the exhibition. Gerber implores the viewer to contact these people for information about the show and the concept of showing. 
“Pretending to Pretend” houses much good art and many good ideas. The notion of pretending to pretend is clear throughout the show, but sometimes runs a little too close to pretense and pretension. Much of what is showing in the No Name galleries is well-intentioned self-flagellation, art that won’t make a lot of sense to an uninformed art public. “Pretending to Pretend” and the project rooms show art that provides a much-needed critique of the classism rampant in the art world. Unfortunately only the art educated will understand the references. 
One of the project rooms housing Jim Nolan’s “Works” consists of a room with beautifully crafted pieces of minimalist sculpture. One piece of beam-shaped sculpture leaning up against the wall looks suspiciously like Richard Serra’s 1968 sculpture “Prop,” (“Prop” is part of the permanent collection at the Walker Art Center). Serra’s minimalist “Prop” piece presupposes that all things are art, even the slab of metal that is just ‘propped’ up against the wall. Jim Nolan’s conceptual art piece consists of a ‘beam’ that is ‘propped’ against a wall and sits on top of a beer can. A triangular piece of Nolan’s conceptual sculpture has the obvious blue-collar work shirt hanging from the edge of it. Is there such a thing as blue-collar minimalism? Has Nolan pushed minimalism, and turned it conceptual by adding very symbolic objects? By putting the ‘prop’ on top of a beer can, does he make an effective statement on the classism in the art world, and the subsequent alienation of the uninformed blue-collar worker? Or is it just another inside joke for an informed art crowd? 
In all, this show is entertaining, fun and thought provoking. The artists are extremely knowledgeable and work hard to poke fun at the art world and at themselves. Hopefully more than just the usual art goer will understand and enjoy these often brilliant works of art. A trip to the Soap Factory is always worthwhile, and we continue to see some of the most exciting work found anywhere in the Twin Cities.
“Pretending to Pretend” continues through Sept. 29. No Name Exhibitions @ The Soap Factory is located at 110 5th Ave. SE, Mpls., 612-623-9176.