Exhibition Information Date:  April 24 - September 27, 2009 Place:  Galleries 4, 5, 6 View all associated images View this exhibition in the Walker Calendar
		Image: Kris Martin, Still alive , 2005 silver-plated bronze; edition 5, 1 AP one-to-one of the artist’s skull Edition 5 + 1AP Collection Andrea Welschof and Volkmar Kölsch, Bielefeld, Germany Courtesy Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf Photo: Achim Kukulies, Düsseldorf

Surveying art that tries to reach beyond itself and the limits of our knowledge and experience, The Quick and the Dead seeks, in part, to ask what is alive and dead within the legacy of conceptual art. Though the term “conceptual” has been applied to myriad kinds of art, it originally covered works and practices from the 1960s and ‘70s that emphasized the ideas behind or around a work of art, foregrounding language, action, and context rather than visual form. But this basic definition fails to convey the ambitions of many artists who have been variously described as conceptual: as Sol LeWitt asserted in 1969, conceptual artists are “mystics rather than rationalists.” Although some of their work involves unremarkable materials or even borders on the invisible, these artists explore new ways of thinking about time and space, often aspiring to realms and effects that fall far outside of our perceptual limitations.

The exhibition title derives from a biblical phrase describing the judgment of the living and the dead at the end of time. But it has been used in innumerable ways since, including by the designer and engineer R. Buckminster Fuller, who in 1947 lauded what he called the “quick realities” of modern physics, condemning the “dead superstitions” of classical, object-based Newtonian theories. This distinction between objects and events underlined many conceptual practices of the late 1960s and ‘70s that pressed at the edges of the discernable—the work of artists like George Brecht, who seamlessly transformed objects into motionless events and asked us to consider “an art verging on the non-existent, dissolving into other dimensions;” Lygia Clark, whose foldable sculptures sought to dissolve the boundary between inside and outside, each “a static moment within the cosmological dynamics from which we came and to which we are going;” and James Lee Byars who, obsessed with a magically gothic idea of perfection that included metaphorical enactments of his own death, declared that “the perfect performance is to stand still.”

With an international group of 53 artists in a range of media, The Quick and the Dead expands beyond the here and now, reaffirming conceptual art’s ability to engage some of the deeper mysteries and questions of our lives. The exhibition brings together more than 90 works, juxtaposing a core group from the 1960s and ‘70s with more recent examples that might only loosely qualify as conceptual. Included in the show are new works made specifically for the exhibition and a number that have not been previously shown or realized. The presentation expands beyond the Walker’s main galleries to its public spaces, parking ramp, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, and the nearby Basilica of Saint Mary.

Artists in the Exhibition
Francis Alÿs, Robert Barry, Joseph Beuys, George Brecht, James Lee Byars, John Cage, Maurizio Cattelan, Paul Chan, Lygia Clark, Tony Conrad, Tacita Dean, Jason Dodge, Trisha Donnelly, Marcel Duchamp, Harold Edgerton, Ceal Floyer, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Roger Hiorns, Douglas Huebler, Pierre Huyghe, The Institute For Figuring, Stephen Kaltenbach, On Kawara, Christine Kozlov, David Lamelas, Louise Lawler, Paul Etienne Lincoln, Mark Manders, Kris Martin, Steve McQueen, Helen Mirra, Catherine Murphy, Bruce Nauman, Rivane Neuenschwander, Claes Oldenburg, Roman Ondák, Giuseppe Penone, Susan Philipsz, Anthony Phillips, Adrian Piper, Steven Pippin, Paul Ramírez Jonas, Charles Ray, Tobias Rehberger, Hannah Rickards, Arthur Russell, Michael Sailstorfer, Roman Signer, Simon Starling, John Stezaker, Mladen Stilinović, Sturtevant, Shomei Tomatsu

The Quick and the Dead is made possible by generous support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support is provided by the Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam, and the David Teiger Foundation. Curatorial research travel is supported by the Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam, and the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York. Media partner Mpls.St.Paul Magazine.

Hotel partners

	Artist Talk Artist Talk: Paul Chan Thursday, September 17, 2009   7:00 pm
	Family Program Down with Dirt Free First Saturday Saturday, August 1, 2009   10:00 am to 3:00 pm
	Mack Lecture and Workshop The Institute For Figuring Workshop and Artist Talk Thursday, July 30, 2009   5:00 pm
	Mack Lecture Ronald Mallett: Time Traveler Thursday, July 9, 2009   7:00 pm
	Family Program Magical Mysteries Free First Saturday Saturday, May 2, 2009   10:00 am to 3:00 pm
	Music John Cage’s Organ2/ASLSP Thursdays in April 30 - September 24, 2009   7:00 pm
	Mack Lecture Opening-Day Artist Talk: Sturtevant Saturday, April 25, 2009   2:00 pm
	Exhibition Preview Party Walker After Hours/Preview Party Friday, April 24, 2009   9:00 pm to 12:00 am

Digging for lemons in Oldenburgs Garden http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/04/28/digging-for-lemons-in-oldenburgs-garden/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: Exhibitions

Video shorts: Peter Eleey discusses The Quick and the Dead http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/04/24/quick-and-the-dead-video/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: Exhibitions

Art world descends on The Quick and the Dead http://blogs.walkerart.org/offcenter/2009/05/06/art-world-descends-on-the-quick-and-the-dead/ Walker blogs, Off Center: General

Video Shorts: Peter Eleey discusses The Quick and the Dead, part 2 http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/05/06/quick-and-the-dead-video-pt2/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: Exhibitions

Postcard from Magical Mysteries family day http://blogs.walkerart.org/ecp/2009/05/07/postcard-from-magical-mysteries-family-day/ Walker blogs, Education and Community Programs: General

Working Knowledge: the Walkers visual arts curatorial fellows http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/06/15/working-knowledge-the-walkers-visual-arts-curatorial-fellows/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: Behind the Scenes

Nauman and Me (and the Mic-in-a-Tree) http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/05/28/nauman-and-me-and-the-mic-in-a-tree/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: Behind the Scenes

Dr. Ronald Mallett speaks on time travel at the Walker http://blogs.walkerart.org/ecp/2009/06/26/dr-ronald-mallett-speaks-on-time-travel-at-the-walker/ Walker blogs, Education and Community Programs: Garden Dirt

Bits & Pieces http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/07/10/bits-pieces/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: General

Time Traveling http://blogs.walkerart.org/ecp/2009/07/15/time-traveling/ Walker blogs, Education and Community Programs: General

Crocheting hyperbolic space with The Institute For Figuring http://blogs.walkerart.org/ecp/2009/07/21/crocheting-hyperbolic-space-with-the-institute-for-figuring/ Walker blogs, Education and Community Programs: General

Inside Bruce Naumans Body as a Sphere: Walker performers tell all! http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/08/07/inside-bruce-naumans-body-as-a-sphere-walker-performers-tell-all/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: General

Paul Chan Research http://blogs.walkerart.org/teens/2009/09/04/paul-chan-research/ Walker blogs, Teen Programs and WACTAC: Around the Walker

The Quick and the Dead nominated for a new and glamorous Art Award http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/09/25/the-quick-and-the-dead-nominated-for-a-new-and-glamorous-art-award/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: General

Museum Exhibition Title Graphics http://blogs.walkerart.org/design/2009/07/30/museum-exhibition-title-graphics/ Walker blogs, Design: Flat Files

Bits & Pieces: From Twilight to Zaire, and points in between http://blogs.walkerart.org/offcenter/2009/11/16/bits-pieces-from-twilight-to-zaire-and-points-in-between/ Walker blogs, Off Center: Context

Past-Present-Future: George Brecht, Mark Bradford http://blogs.walkerart.org/offcenter/2008/12/18/past-present-future-george-brecht-mark-bradford/ Walker blogs, Off Center: Art History

The Quick and the Dead: Q&A with curator Peter Eleey http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/04/15/the-quick-and-the-dead-qa-with-curator-peter-eleey/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: General

The Quick and the Dead: making, performing, exhibiting http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2009/04/23/the-quick-and-the-dead-making-performing-exhibiting/ Walker blogs, Visual Arts: General

Simon Starling: Tiepolo and Duchamp http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/2008/10/10/simon-starling-tiepolo-and-duchamp-2/

All your last week's desires by Tobias Rehberger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy3-HmryKPA Curator Peter Eleey discusses Tobias Rehberger's All your last week's desires.

Timekeeper by Pierre Huyghe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXvpgZn8NDw Curator Peter Eleey discusses Pierre Huyghe's Timekeeper.

Art on Call http://newmedia.walkerart.org/aoc/index.wac?cms=4486 Listen to audio related to this exhibition on the phone, online, or subscribe to the podcast.