By Michelle Cheung
I went uptown on what seemed like the coldest day this winter to find out exactly what it is that Tino Sehgal is doing as part of the museum’s 50th Anniversary celebration. You will not find any photographic or videographic evidence of Tino Sehgal’s latest exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York but, trust me, I saw it and it is there. His latest mise-en-scéne promises to yet again push the boundaries of artwork through performance and participation. After going through his highly personal exhibition, I can attest that this London-born, Berlin-based artist has kept his promise. We, as spectators and participants, go with zero expectations, not even knowing the title of his piece, and leave with an invaluable experience. Any prior knowledge of his work will just taint one’s takeaway, and this is why I hesitate to say more. The existentialist in anyone will find inspiration and meaning in his work. If you can take my word for it, then you should stop reading this now.
Sehgal’s exhibition is perfectly set around the Guggenheim Museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda. As you enter the building, you are quickly introduced to a slow-motion scene of two lovers rolling in the grassless lobby, caressing each other’s clothed bodies, kissing. The lovers are completely engrossed in their amorous performance yet, at the same time, still fully connected to their audience. At the heart of the museum, the duo anchors Sehgal’s work, setting the pace, setting the emotions for what is to come. They hypnotize you and they begin to blur your distinction between performance and spectatorship, between an act and reality. The museum is suspiciously packed and busy and you wonder if those around you, like another couple on your left or the security guard on the other end of the lobby, are also part of Sehgal’s puppetry.
You remove yourself from the lovers’ scene and start your ascend from the base of the museum’s spiraling ramp. Walking up the second level, you find nothing but bare walls. No artwork is displayed except a glimpse through the pathway to Anish Kapoor’s concurrent exhibition at the adjacent Annex. You stroll higher trying to find more of Tino Sehgal and soon discover that it has found you. Ruby finds you and you join her in the act. Your life begins to slow down to the lovers’ pace. You are engrossed deeper in an experience where, now, the distinction between performance and reality is not merely blurred but eliminated. For the next thirty-or-so minutes of your life, you surrender yourself to Sehgal’s hands.
What I got out of it, you will never know, but you still have time to find out.
The exhibition, simply called Tino Sehgal, will be open from January 29 to March 10 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York (1071 Fifth Avenue).
