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James Turrell: Knowing Light
Light Reign, James Turrell SkyspaceAlex Morrison: New Work
North Galleries/ Mezzanine
July 17, 2004 – October 31, 2004
For his first solo exhibition in the U.S., Canadian artist Alex Morrison presented a new film installation alongside recent photographs and drawings. Connected to previous works such as “Housewrecker” (2002) by dueling themes of personal freedom versus social order, performance and authenticity, idealism and subversion, – a new, as yet untitled work reenacted a pivotal scene from Lindsay Anderson’s"If . . ." (1968), a seminal film from the era of 1960s student revolt. Unlike “Housewrecker”, a multi-channel video documenting a group of kids as they attempt to destroy their derelict house, “Untitled” forgoes action for a philosophical conversation between two young non-conformists, revealing the impulse behind violent protest.
In addition to “Untitled”, a group of photographs titled “Poached” used skateboarding to explore how youth subcultures are tamed as they enter the mainstream. A 2000 work, “Every House I’ve Ever Lived In”, completed the exhibition and included a group of drawings, drafted on the museum walls, chronicling the numerous residences Morrison occupied.