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Past Exhibition
Mike Bouchet
Exhibition Dates: October 6–November 4, 2007
The Box held a unique exhibition of both old and new pieces by artist, Mike Bouchet. Throughout the months of September and October the artist had planned four venues at different art spaces in the Los Angeles area. Bouchet now lives and works in Frankfurt, Germany.
This was the first exhibition of Bouchet at The Box and we are proud to have explored how Bouchet’s past and present work interact with one another. In the gallery space were two separate spaces with Eagle Rock ShitRock, 1997-2000 in the front gallery and five paintings of Bouchet’s Goya Tapestry Cartoon series dated 2007 in the back gallery.
Eagle Rock ShitRock, 1997-2000 is a sculpture in which the artist created sheetrock with cow manure. This was the last work that he completed in his Los Angeles studio, which Bouchet referred to as Giverny after Monet’s studio. Bouchet’s sheetrock was produced in a factory like manner, using an assembly line to create multiple sheets of Eagle Rock ShitRock. Before having to leave Giverny, Bouchet had the studio photographed by a fashion photographer. These images are now used in the creation of Eagle Rock Sheet Rock Wallpaper, 2000, a piece that places the shit-filled artist’s studio into the clean spaces of galleries and private homes. The sculpture that will be on view is the physical remnants of Eagle Rock ShitRock, 1997-2000 a piece that has stayed in Los Angles since 1997, un-shown for years. This piece confronts and plays a bit of joke on American societal expectations of having a clean space, by placing shit right behind the façade of a clean wall. This piece also includes some of the items used to create Eagle Rock ShitRock such as shovels, a tripod and a bucket.
In the back gallery were five paintings of Bouchet’s Goya Tapestry Cartoons, 2007. These five paintings are images taken from American movie posters, thus playing on and exploring the aesthetic value Americans place on celebrities and the images their movies create. These paintings also play on cultural communication. Bouchet is interested in how the Romans used coins and busts of their leaders as a means of mass communication. The Modern world uses movie posters to create a universal cultural aesthetic and a universal understanding of cultural issues. By referencing movie posters’ imagery, Bouchet is considering modern means of mass communication and the cultural aesthetic they value. These paintings are clean and stunning in color and full of dynamic images that are meant to draw the viewer in, just as Goya’s Tapestrys once did.
Bringing together the Eagle Rock ShitRock, 1997-2000 and Goya Tapestry Cartoons into one gallery, a common theme can be seen in Bouchet’s work. The clean atheistic of Modern culture floats just below the surface of the shity, unkempt elements of the culture. The slick is brought in to sit next to the dirty, allowing the viewer to question how these two aesthetics connect and interact in their own lives and cultures.
Coinciding with this exhibition Bouchet will also have exhibitions at Circus Gallery and MC Kunst in Los Angeles. Bouchet’s film, 16 x 9 Action Film, is also be screened at MOCA, LA on the 7th of October at 2pm, please see their website for updates.
Some Photos From The Opening–Thanks Alberta!
Mike Bouchet Open Forum Discussion
November 3rd, 2007
@5PM
On the final day of Mike Bouchet’s exhibition at The Box gallery, we hosted an Open Forum Discussion around his work. This event was an informal social gathering, bringing people together to sit, have a drink, and discuss the artwork of Mike Bouchet. As you may or may not know Mike Bouchet scheduled four art events this September and October in Los Angeles (including this exhibition at The Box) and we believe that this was the perfect time to reflect on his work.