Lot 33: JACK GOLDSTEIN

Untitled

36 1/8 x 96 x 6 1/4 in. (91.8 x 243.8 x 15.9 cm)

acrylic on canvas

1987

Edinburgh, The Fruitmarket Gallery, <em>Jack Goldstein</em>, August 6 - September 25, 1988

John Weber Gallery, New York
Sale: Phillips de Pury &amp; Company, New York, <em>Contemporary Art Part II,</em> May 18, 2007, lot 125
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Extending through such postmodern approaches as minimalism, appropriation, and the notion of spectacle, the present lot,<em> Untitled,</em> 1987, encompasses the legacy of Jack Goldstein&#8217;s practice. Invariably recognized for his performance pieces, video, and sound installations, Goldstein&#8217;s paintings evoke cinematic composition and succeed in capturing the image of sound in a state of rupture.

During his time at CalArts (1970-72), Goldstein began exploring Conceptualism and Post-Studio art under John Baldessari. Five years later, the seminal <em>Pictures</em> exhibition curated by Douglas Crimp at Artists Space in New York, would propel Goldstein&#8217;s career, along with fellow artists Sherrie Levine and Robert Longo. In his catalogue essay, Crimp begins with a description of one of Goldstein&#8217;s videos &#8211; a work in progress at the time &#8211; <em>The Jump,</em> 1978. In this video, the rotoscoped silhouette of a diver is seen in action against a black background, plunging before disintegrating into burst of reds, oranges and gold. As noted by Crimp, <em>The Jump,</em> 1987, succeeds in distilling and emphasizing the recording of an actual event, imposing a &#8220;distance between the event and its viewers because, according to Goldstein, it is only through distance that we can understand the world.&#8221; (Douglas Crimp, <em>Pictures, Artists Space</em>, New York, 1977, Curator: Douglas Crimp, reprinted in X-TRA, vol. 8, no. 1, p.17).

As with his video work, the centrality of distance is equally at play in <em>Untitled</em>, 1987. While minimalism is noted through the pattern of circles&#8211; a gesture of repetition&#8211; this painting marks a slight departure from the looped reproduction inherent in Goldstein&#8217;s video and sound art. Untitled is not simulacra, it does not emulate reality, instead this work becomes indexical of simulacra, &#8220;not in relation to what is represented, but in relation to other representations.&#8221; (Douglas Crimp, <em>Pictures, Artists Space</em>, New York, 1977, Curator: Douglas Crimp, reprinted in <em>X-TRA</em>, vol. 8, no. 1, p.19). Here, <em>Untitled</em>, 1987, acts as a referent to notions of the cinematic spectacle. The symmetrical arrangement of black and ochre circles dotting the foreground act as a screen between the viewer&#8217;s gaze and the smoldering depth of purple, black, red, orange, and yellow abstraction that lies in the background. This break in visual plane creates a heightened sense of awareness; one&#8217;s perception becomes a negotiation between calculated foreground and explosive abstraction, a scene that is further mediated by blue and black vertical lines framing the left and right edges of the canvas.

<em>Untitled</em>, 1987, like many of Jack Goldstein&#8217;s paintings, is more than an appropriation of the imagery of celestial phenomena, this painting incites a larger commentary on the power of mediated experience. The artist has arrested the image of sound and movement, a stasis further abstracting a moment of rupture, creating a harmonization of fragmentation and stillness.