WEAK FOUNDATIONS

Momenta Art is pleased to present the group exhibition Weak Foundations, co-organized by Eric Heist and Michael Ashkin. The exhibition focuses on architectural photography that pushes our faith in the solidity of the human, built environment by finding shifting and unstable subtexts.

The South Bronx in the 70’s is presented as a Xerox display by Ray Mortenson – a powerful, forgotten urban-scape. Camilo José Vergara’s decades-long, time-lapse photography chronicles urban degradation. Chinese artist Qing Liu contributes counterpoint to architectural imagery with images of gazers upon the site of the previous Twin Towers. Dennis Sears’ images of the lower Manhattan financial district provide past histories of violence and institutionalized brutality in that now infamous part of the city. Belgian artist Vincent Meesen’s vibrant but alienating video follows two African men in a dust-blown, ruin-like structure, prompting questions regarding the men’s relationship to this personal architecture. Gregor Neuerer provides ephemeral evidence of improvised social spaces by the smudges left on buildings where smokers congregate. Michael Ashkin’s photographic inventory of the effects of eminent domain in a town in New Jersey contrast with David Scher’s humorous images of individualized vernacular architectural solutions. Bernie Yenelouis’s ephemeral, re-photographed Polaroids of inner city Detroit seem on the verge of de-materializing, and Caitlin Masley’s large, propped-up prints of housing projects in Singapore seem on the verge of collapse. Robert Neuwirth provides viewers with vital statistics pertaining to squatter cities throughout the world from his recent book, Shadow Cities. A slide presentation by Mr. Neuwirth is also planned at a time to be announced. Jennifer Dalton provides the results of her research into toxic businesses in Williamsburg while Martha Rosler presents a more local approach in her elegy to Greenpoint, with residents carrying on with their daily routines despite enormous changes in the neighborhood. Finally, Polish artist Józef Robakowski lovingly follows the routines of his neighbors from his window over a 21 year period until the video abruptly ends with the construction of a luxury hotel that eliminates his view.

WEAK FOUNDATIONS

mit Michael Ashkin, Qing Liu, Jennifer Dalton, Jozef Robakowski, Caitlin Masley, Martha Rosler, Vincent Meessen, David Scher, Ray Mortenson, Dennis Sears, Gregor Neuerer, Camilo Jose Vergara, Robert Neuwirth, Bernie Yenelouis