FriendsWithYou, “Starburst” (2010) (all photos by author)
Drawn by an over-900 people attending Facebook events page and a plug on GAYLETTER two months ago, I wandered into the opening of 🙂 by FriendsWithYou at The Hole and left feeling a mixture of what Dr. Hunter S. Thompson described as “fear and loathing.” Now, a few days before the exhibition’s closing, I revisited 🙂 to see if my opinion of the art would change without the unseasonable near 100 degree heat, crowded gallery and drunkenness. It didn’t.
FriendsWithYou is a Miami-based art collective that formed in 2002 by Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III to spread “Magic, Luck and Friendship” around the world. Beginning by making toys and now consulting with corporations, FriendsWithYou is perhaps best known for their recently closed installation Rainbow City near the High Line.
Filled with smiling paintings and sculptures made primarily of Lasercut MDF, car paint and acrylic and a giant inflatable sculpture, 🙂 is a frightening testament to how much power hype has in the current art scene. With previous exhibitions of artists such as Kenny Scharf and Cody Critcheloe & SSION that are truly gleeful and my own love of Pop and bright imagery, I entered into Jeffery Deitch-protégée Kathy Grayson’s The Hole thinking that I would at least appreciate FriendsWithYou. While the cheerful works like “Plasma God” are clearly inspired by the Pop irreverence of Takashi Murakami or even Keith Haring, I am still left feeling completely blank about the work.
FriendsWithYou, “Plasma God” (2011) and “Lucky Stick” (2011)
While the joyous faces and cartoonish colors are meant to invoke a childlike wonder in the viewer, the main problem with 🙂 is the disconnect between the language FriendsWithYou and The Hole use to discuss the work and the work itself. This problem is only multiplied and becomes more terrifying when these ideas are taken up by reporters, bloggers and art viewers, who get caught up in the trendiness of the show.
FriendsWithYou, “Infinity Pond” (2011)
Clearly from the press release, The Hole and FriendsWithYou see this exhibition as a rejection of the staid and morose art scene. As the press release reads:
Their sculptures and paintings, inflatables and objects are meant to trigger the buried, neglected urges and yearnings that a seasoned art viewer may not expect to have activated; playfulness, laughter and inquisitiveness.
Looking at a work like Infinity Pond, I did not feel playful or inquisitive, but instead felt empty and confused as to why so many people in the art scene were interested in this work. Even more aggravating than the cloying work itself is the implication through the press release that if you don’t have a certain response to the work, you must be an angry art-viewing douchebag that hates fun.
FriendsWithYou’s “:)” installation shot and “BFF” (2011)
In the center of the installation photograph of 🙂, “Round & Round” (2011), a work featuring two spinning yellow smiley faces, shows the moving works of the exhibition. Spinning, moving vertically or just shifting eyes like retro cat wall-clocks, certain works in 🙂 are in constant motion, which still does no’t help to make the show more meaningful or interactive.
Native Shoes pop-up store in The Hole
The most disturbing part of 🙂 for me and where my “fear and loathing” came to a head was the Native Shoes pop-up store inside The Hole. Native Shoes are a Canadian shoe brand that co-presented the show with the Hole. In their second collaboration with FriendsWithYou, the Native Shoes pop-up store is completely jarring and points to a problem with the commercial art market.
I’m not against galleries selling artist multiples, books or even artist-designed clothing and shoes. I frequently bought merchandise from Keith Haring’s Pop Shop when it still existed on West Broadway in SoHo. The Native Shoes store has no artistic connection to FriendsWithYou, which makes me wonder about its placement in The Hole. Maybe its an indication of the horrible economic time we’re in that a gallery has to sell shoes in order to finance an exhibition or maybe its blatant consumerism. Either way the Native Shoes store in The Hole made me feel as if the popular art scene was doomed.
FriendsWIthYou, “The Portal” (2011)
After walking through the exhibit a second time, I still kept trying to find reasons for the popularity of FriendsWithYou’s work and the show in particular, wondering if I had missed the point. Is the meaninglessness a ploy like Andy Warhol’s calculated emptiness in his work? Is it making a statement on Internet culture with the emoticon show title and smiley faces everywhere? Honestly, what were they thinking? As the most hyped show of the summer, I still feel that 🙂 is the finest example the power of trendiness and style with no substance. But at least, you can buy some shoes?
🙂 by FriendsWithYou will be on view at The Hole until August 6, 2011
The Latest
Special Edition: 🖌️Artists’ Signatures ✍️
In this special edition, we investigate what artists’ signatures actually mean, and the fascinating results reveal the multifaceted history of this curious phenomenon.
What Is a Signature in the Internet Age?
As a cryptographic unit for record-keeping, an NFT can be seen as analogous to a signature or an autograph.
The Public Theater Explores the Hurricane Katrina Diaspora in shadow/land
Written by Erika Dickerson-Despenza and directed by Candis C. Jones, this lyrical meditation on legacy, erotic fugitivity, and self-determination is on view in NYC.
The Meaning of Ancient Greek and Roman Artisan Signatures
What did a signature mean in the ancient world, and how much can we trust what they seem to tell us?
Michelangelo’s Signature and the Myth of Genius
Michelangelo served as a stellar example for future artists who sought status and economic independence.
The Rubin Museum Presents Death Is Not the End
Tibetan Buddhist and Christian works of art made across 12 centuries explore death, the afterlife, and the desire to continue to exist. On view in NYC.
Uncovering the Photographer Behind Arshile Gorky’s Most Famous Painting
As we pursue photographer Hovhannes Avedaghayan a fascinating picture begins to emerge of him and the world of which he was part.
100 Years of Artist Signatures in a Detroit Club
The beams in Detroit’s Scarab Club act as a guest book of sorts, carrying a wealth of stories and history, including signatures by Diego Rivera, Marcel Duchamp, Margaret Bourke-White, Isamu Noguchi, and others.
When I Am Empty Please Dispose of Me Properly
Ayanna Dozier, Ilana Harris-Babou, Meena Hasan, Lucia Hierro, Catherine Opie, Chuck Ramirez, and Pacifico Silano explore the myths of the American Dream at Brooklyn’s BRIC House.
The Myth of Agency Around Artists’ Signatures
In an art world built on shifting sands, artists’ signatures become symbols of agency for some, and relics of the past for others.
The Women Artists Commemorated on an NYC Sidewalk
The signatures of Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, and six other historical women artists are engraved on a small stretch of sidewalk on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Pratt’s 2023 Fine Arts MFA Thesis Exhibition Is On View in Brooklyn
The two-part exhibition features the work of 41 graduating artists across disciplines, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, and integrated practices.
Met Museum Repatriates 15 Objects to India
The sculptures were all at one point sold by the disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor.
Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova Placed on Russian “Wanted” List
Tolokonnikova has long been a thorn in the side of Vladimir Putin’s regime.
amen! i felt the EXACT SAME WAY!! “wtf!” or “#hype” should have been the name of the show.
This is a pretty interesting article. I always find that, when reviews, hype, and press releases contain a value judgment, however subtle or correct, there are always equally powerful and opposed judgments to be made. It’s sort of like those moments when people characterize themselves using the format, “I’m the sort of person who is ______.” The truth of their character is almost always the opposite of whatever they’ve said.
I suspect FreindsWithYou is ironic, creating work that is FULL of the sort of sentiment that does indeed bring “fear and loathing” to serious art afficiandos. The stuff is just plain god-awful mawkish kitsch: except when placed in a gallery (or an art venue) where it prompts anxiety! Openly selling happy happy shoes in the exhibit is a brilliant touch. It’s like selling The Artist’s Shit, only cuter!
Clearly Takashi Murakami’s irony (is it? I don’t know, that’s why they call it irony) is spreading like a damp pool in the basement. Where is it coming from?
As a “seasoned art viewer” I appreciate and seek out art that activates playfulness, laughter and inquisitiveness. To me, that is one of art-viewing’s best rewards. Definitely sounds like there is a dis-connect between the gallery and their audience.
as a huge fan of FriendsWithYou’s plushes, which had so much heart and were totally original, i was quite disappointed by this sterile and somewhat derivative environment. interestingly, down the block at Salon 94 Bowery is a joyous show (thru 8/12) entitled “Paul Clay” with this ceramic piece that embodied the sense of whimsy that seemed missing at The Hole. (apologies for the lo-fi image)
found a FWY albino squid, 🙂