Intro
Jimmie Durham: Maquette for a Museum of Switzerland
Swiss Institute, New York
7 Marc–15 April 2012
Content
The work of American artist Jimmie Durham is manifold. As poet, former activist, essayist, and sculptor he deftly mines the fields of art and political reality, infiltrating culture industries in ways that are both ironic and ambivalent. The contemporary work of Durham plays upon the construction and build up of a “postmodern savage.” Durham’s 'Maquette for a Museum of Switzerland' is a sincere, institutional-like setting. Containing objects, masks, photos as well as texts by the artist, it questions national clichés and symbols.
Jimmie Durham who lived and studied in Geneva describes the characteristics of the small country as follows: “Switzerland is a unique and exotic enclave of “a”, more than “anti-“ European culture. Its native arts and festivals have been largely hidden even within the country. 'Maquette for a Museum of Switzerland' is an attempt to show a part of the delightful culture of the country, with the view of establishing a Swiss center in a proposed museum of Europe in the future. In both instances emphasis will be placed primarily on pre-christian and non-christian phenomena (although in the ‘Maquette’ there will be a brief look at both watchmaking and banking.)”
