Chinese Take-Out
An Art in General New Commission
An Art in General New Commission
2011
Jason Bailer Losh
Chinese Take-Out
May 20 – July 9, 2011
Chinese Take-Out
May 20 – July 9, 2011
Chinese Take-Out, a 2011 New Commissions project at Art in General by Jason Bailer Losh
Chinese Take Out explores the culturally symbolic representations of “home “that adorn the walls of New York City’s Chinatown restaurants. Grandiose photographs of famous historic sites like The Forbidden City, The Great Wall, and the Summer Palace can be seen in almost every establishment and seem to represent a sense of nationalistic pride and personal connection to Chinese cultural heritage, even a sense of nostalgia for a country that that has been left behind. Interested in how different communities embrace family tradition and heritage, Losh’s New Commissions project creates a mode of personal exchange with local restaurant owners. Focusing on the personal and cultural memory that objects passed from one generation to another can accrue, to complete his exhibition, Losh is asking ten restaurants to part with an object or artifact from their restaurant. These pieces will be installed and displayed within the confines of Art in General’s gallery space. At the same time Losh will commission an artist to create a new artwork for each participating restaurant, to be displayed in each restaurant. Each new work will be created in consultation with the restaurant owner, fusing the artist’s personal ideas of tradition and heritage with those of the restaurant owners. Chinese Take Out is an exhibition in two parts; a gallery show of images and objects removed from their original context, and a simultaneously, an insertion of the personal into the public at selected restaurants throughout the Chinatown neighborhood.
Chinese Take Out’s creative mode of exchange calls attention to the fact that more and more, people are rooted in countries removed from their family’s origins and as a result, have a complicated and intricate relationship to the notion of home. This transience speaks to the modern condition of place, emphasizing the need to attach memory, history, and story to the images and objects that represent home to an outside world.
Information on participation:
Chinese Take Out presents a rare opportunity for a greater level of exchange and communication between Art in General's art world audience and the local Chinatown community. As an educational institution, we see this project as a means of fostering important local cultural exchange in the hopes that it serves as a starting point so that the interaction can continue beyond a specific exhibition.
Chinese Take Out explores the culturally symbolic representations of “home “that adorn the walls of New York City’s Chinatown restaurants. Grandiose photographs of famous historic sites like The Forbidden City, The Great Wall, and the Summer Palace can be seen in almost every establishment and seem to represent a sense of nationalistic pride and personal connection to Chinese cultural heritage, even a sense of nostalgia for a country that that has been left behind. Interested in how different communities embrace family tradition and heritage, Losh’s New Commissions project creates a mode of personal exchange with local restaurant owners. Focusing on the personal and cultural memory that objects passed from one generation to another can accrue, to complete his exhibition, Losh is asking ten restaurants to part with an object or artifact from their restaurant. These pieces will be installed and displayed within the confines of Art in General’s gallery space. At the same time Losh will commission an artist to create a new artwork for each participating restaurant, to be displayed in each restaurant. Each new work will be created in consultation with the restaurant owner, fusing the artist’s personal ideas of tradition and heritage with those of the restaurant owners. Chinese Take Out is an exhibition in two parts; a gallery show of images and objects removed from their original context, and a simultaneously, an insertion of the personal into the public at selected restaurants throughout the Chinatown neighborhood.
Chinese Take Out’s creative mode of exchange calls attention to the fact that more and more, people are rooted in countries removed from their family’s origins and as a result, have a complicated and intricate relationship to the notion of home. This transience speaks to the modern condition of place, emphasizing the need to attach memory, history, and story to the images and objects that represent home to an outside world.
Information on participation:
Chinese Take Out presents a rare opportunity for a greater level of exchange and communication between Art in General's art world audience and the local Chinatown community. As an educational institution, we see this project as a means of fostering important local cultural exchange in the hopes that it serves as a starting point so that the interaction can continue beyond a specific exhibition.
