The absurd talent of the Marx Brothers flies over the heads of most people in our generation; a shame, considering the extent to which their gags have influenced comedy as we know it. What Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo did so well was satirizing the lame status quo of pre-World War II life. Theirs was an anarchic approach to comedy, finding ways to criticize academia, the government, and culture in the simplest, blink-and-you-miss-it ways. But I’m not here to give you an education in comedy (although some say* I could quite deftly). I am here to speak about Marxism, currently on show at 303 Gallery.
The show’s curators, Jacob and Jens Hoffmann, have cast the legacy of the brothers in a new context, aligning it with the work of seminal and contemporary artists Marcel Duchamp, Jack Goldstein, Richard Prince, Rodney Graham, and Tim Lee. Prince’s You Bet Your Life, named after Groucho’s 50s radio show, takes the show’s promotional imagery—Groucho’s facial features—and appropriates it in several different ways. No matter the constellation Prince arranges them in, the mustache, cigar, and eyebrows alone assure the viewer that it’s always Groucho smirking back at you.
In his short film, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Jack Goldstein has taken the roaring lion that usually appears before old Hollywood films, and jaggedly looped it. Goldstein has also exchanged the banner words "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" with "Ars Gratia Artis", meaning “Art for Art’s Sake.” Facing this projection is the Marx Brothers' original riff on the MGM lion, in which Groucho and Chico mime the lion’s familiar roar, and mute Harpo uses his horn to growl (it’s really funny). Lee, Graham, and Duchamp’s pieces are equally as entertaining, as is the varying memorabilia, pulled from a gamut of obscure places, and including one of Harpo’s wigs.
Through August 3rd, 2012
*No one says this.
303 GALLERY
547 West 21st St.
New York, NY, 10011
map
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Prince's You Bet Your Life
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In this piece, originally the right way up, Duchamp stenciled a mustache and goatee onto poor Mona Lisa. The letters below, L.H.O.O.Q., when read aloud in French says, "She has a hot ass."
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The Brothers' spin on the MGM lion
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Graham's The Green Cinematograph (Programme 1: Pipe Smoker and Overflowing Sink)
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Lee's rehash of the film Duck Soup
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The seats bear the number of each brother's birthday
The show’s curators, Jacob and Jens Hoffmann, have cast the legacy of the brothers in a new context, aligning it with the work of seminal and contemporary artists Marcel Duchamp, Jack Goldstein, Richard Prince, Rodney Graham, and Tim Lee. Prince’s You Bet Your Life, named after Groucho’s 50s radio show, takes the show’s promotional imagery—Groucho’s facial features—and appropriates it in several different ways. No matter the constellation Prince arranges them in, the mustache, cigar, and eyebrows alone assure the viewer that it’s always Groucho smirking back at you.
In his short film, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Jack Goldstein has taken the roaring lion that usually appears before old Hollywood films, and jaggedly looped it. Goldstein has also exchanged the banner words "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" with "Ars Gratia Artis", meaning “Art for Art’s Sake.” Facing this projection is the Marx Brothers' original riff on the MGM lion, in which Groucho and Chico mime the lion’s familiar roar, and mute Harpo uses his horn to growl (it’s really funny). Lee, Graham, and Duchamp’s pieces are equally as entertaining, as is the varying memorabilia, pulled from a gamut of obscure places, and including one of Harpo’s wigs.
Through August 3rd, 2012
*No one says this.
303 GALLERY
547 West 21st St.
New York, NY, 10011
map
Prince's You Bet Your Life
In this piece, originally the right way up, Duchamp stenciled a mustache and goatee onto poor Mona Lisa. The letters below, L.H.O.O.Q., when read aloud in French says, "She has a hot ass."
The Brothers' spin on the MGM lion
Graham's The Green Cinematograph (Programme 1: Pipe Smoker and Overflowing Sink)
Lee's rehash of the film Duck Soup
The seats bear the number of each brother's birthday