The Secret Welcome of Space and it’s Prehistoric Future

The esotericism of a new collaborative show at Sight School in Oakland should not come as a surprise—to exhibit at Michelle Blade’s Oakland gallery is to take part in the space’s mission to plumb the connections and the gaps between art and life. The collaborative effort between Sarah McMenimen and Ellen Black, “The Secret Welcome of Space and it’s [sic] Prehistoric Future,” investigates the relationships, communications, and transmissions that may or may not have been exchanged between our planet and others since 1903. As the title of the exhibition suggests, the work is concerned with one of the most basic dualities in this universe and beyond: fact versus fiction, as well as the distinctions between past, present, and future.

As is characteristic of the space, one cannot consider this show as separate from its venue; Sight School has been known for ambitious and remarkable programming in the few months of its existence, and Blade lives quite close to all of the projects. Not unlike the space Food, run by Gordon Matta-Clark in the early ’70s in Manhattan, or Jules de Balincourt’s interdisciplinary and communal Starr Space, Sight School has a hybridized feeling of being a space for simultaneously making, showing, looking, eating, talking, listening, and performing. Blade is adept at juggling the inherent community of responsibilities. For this exhibition, her curatorial sense of direction takes a backseat to the powerful connection between the artists whom she introduced to one another several months ago. 

Black and McMenimen’s collaboration reveals the artists’ sense of humor—especially in the way the two artists framed their collaboration in my conversations with them. Both are interested in conspiracy theorists and the culture surrounding those who spin cultural personas and pivotal events into evidence of extraterrestrial presence. More importantly, the artists are interested in how they might have a hand in this theorizing, both independently and as an artistic team. The show includes some of the characters one might expect in a space-themed exhibition—a viewer will notice requisite silvery moon rocks positioned in the gallery’s storefront window. But a viewer will also notice some more bizarre elements that drift throughout Black and McMenimen’s work. Perhaps the artists are merely feeding off the conspiracy culture they witnessed in their research: among the mysteries is a fixation on such wildly divergent cultural moments as the music of Earth, Wind & Fire; a presidential assassination; and the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210.

“The Secret Welcome of Space and it’s Prehistoric Future,” installation view, Sight School. Left: Black and McMenimen, 1903- Early Earth astronauts create a film depicting life on the moon (lunar ruins), 2010; mixed media. On wall: Black and McMenimen, 1983- A 12" diametric object is hypothesized to be proof of a Mars/Earth parallel (3 prints), 2010; mixed media. Right: Black and McMenimen, 1991- Advancements in extra-terrestrial code-reading reveal secret communications through popular culture mediums and exposes one of those among us (90210 video), 2010; mixed media. Courtesy of Sight School, Oakland.

Sarah McMenimen. 1963- A page printed in a publication reveals a portal, which proves a government leader's death was caused by his attempt to publicly acknowledge intelligent life outside of our world (JFK piece), 2010; mixed media. Courtesy of Sight School, Oakland.

Despite how serious the space may at first appear, most of the time the playfulness in this work is just below the surface, weaving a common thread in the conversation between Black and McMenimen. The overwrought and heavily parodied currency of “conspiracy” in our world points to a constantly shifting dependence on truths and fictions—especially as we are creators of cultural capital—and the two artists find a way to make light of this type of truth-seeking. Black and McMenimen re-frame the familiar experiences of our day, our truths, and some of our mythical beings, in order to interrogate the act of invention itself. That being said, Black’s video splice-up of the Walsh family of 90210 fame positions Brenda Walsh (a.k.a. Shannen Doherty) as the star of this show and plays with the edges of reality, surreality, and hyper-reality, hitting a precise balance that holds together this admittedly sparse exhibition. A tense moment with the Walsh family is teased out to the point of absurdity, demonstrating how the cult of celebrity continues to obsess us all in its small or large ways. After viewing this work, one may question what universe Brenda/Shannen counts herself a part of, and which, in turn, we, as viewers, should.

Presumably to help position viewers, “The Secret Welcome of Space” is loosely framed chronologically and heavily mines several cultural touchstones for thematic significance. Space travel and the United States’ last century provide some chronological anchors, but were not evident until reading the provided checklist and were less didactic than expected. The music of Earth, Wind & Fire appears emphatically, loosely providing a lyrical and conceptual thread amongst a number of the works. McMenimen’s 1963- A page printed in a publication reveals a portal, which proves a government leader's death was caused by his attempt to publicly acknowledge intelligent life outside of our world (JFK piece) (2010) is positioned on a pedestal above a tilted mirror as if to reflect back one’s own memory or false recollection of where one was on that day in Dallas. The collaborative piece Lunar Ruins (2010) lays about the main exhibition space, embedded with strange videos. Neil Armstrong’s personal footage of the moon is apparently the source material for part of this video, and an Earth, Wind & Fire song is visualized and layered behind the strange shimmering landscape. Though I’d discovered through personal conversation with the artists that these videos have very interesting sources, they are not revealed to viewers. The materials and forms in Sight School all seemed somehow vaguely linked, but I would have known none of these implicit connections without specific explanations from both Blade and the artists.

In the end, there is a distinct impression that one is glimpsing a part of some very secretive plot between McMenimen and Black. In making these works, it seems as though the artists were desperately afraid of over-explaining, and the resulting effect is one of partial obscurity. A viewer is left with the sense that the artists share something between them that they may not be completely willing to share with the rest of the world(s) just yet—there is a bit too much space between the artists and viewers. Though, like many conspiracies, the pieces of their world are not quite convincing enough to hold water, we shouldn’t question the veracity of these “artifacts.” It is better for viewers to recognize that the works signify a creative process as a matter of constructing the truths of a world, and look forward to future plotting from these co-conspirators.

“The Secret Welcome of Space and it’s Prehistoric Future” is on view at Sight School through July 17, 2010.

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NOTES:
1. Interview with the artists, June 16-17, 2010.