Lousy Fear
Organized by Corey McCorkle, Mary Murphy and Peter Taub
Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
January 21 - February 26, 1994
Despite the recent statistical decline in violent crime, a national epidemic of fear now fuels the public agenda. This would suggest that while fewer people are directly exposed to violence, more people are gripped by fears that are shaped by information rather than experience.
Dread has crossed the corporeal boundaries and spilled into the social body, where inevitably our fears are negotiated, communicated and marketed. As a recent article in Metropolis suggests "This is fear as a design problem." The abundance of increasing elaborate security systems, surveillance mechanisms and advertisements which warn the consumer to anticipate their worst fears coming true, only confirm our suspicion that we are most definitely not alone.
Lousy Fear features artists (and commodities) that confront the reputation of fear, addressing this distinctly urban dilemma.
Participants in the exhibition:
Andrew Bush, Los Angeles, California
Joe Litzenberger, Chicago, Illinois
Kathy Pilat, Chicago, Illinois
Ken Rosenthal, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Cynde Schauper, Chicago, Illinois
Julia Scher, New York, New York
Ned Schwartz with David Alexander, Chicago, Illinois
Stephania Serena, New York, New York
Gary Simmons, Brooklyn, New York
Harlan Wallach, Chicago, Illinois
Amy Wheeler, Chicago, Illinois
Christopher Wool, New York, New York
and others.
How do I get some of that for myself, or Becoming America's Most Wanted
Written by organizers Corey McCorkle, Mary Murphy and Peter Taub
Reader, Chicago