RYAN MCGINLEY – YEARBOOK
2014-09-08YEARBOOK is a single artwork that consists of over five hundred studio portraits of some two hundred models, always in the nude, printed on vinyl and adhered to every available inch of the gallery’s walls and ceilings. The installation’s effect is hugely impressive in its standalone visual power, an enveloping entity flooding the entire space with bold color and form. Although the sheer abundance of available images renders a total “reading” impossible, there is never any sense of incompleteness, as each individual image functions autonomously, granting the viewer access to a delicate, once-private moment.
McGinley’s works have deeply permeated the fabric of popular imagery to become foundational touchstones for our very perception of the modern world. The YEARBOOK project – which began in 2008, three years prior to the advent of Instagram – compartmentalizes, confuses, celebrates and categorizes the carnal. Throughout his career, the artist has repeatedly broken down distinctions between the public and the private. Here, he has employed techniques of mass commercial image production to realize what is a profoundly personal vision.
Exhibition runs through to October 12th, 2014
Team (gallery, inc.)
83 Grand Street
New York
NY 10013
