Ronald Feldman © Peggy Jarrell Kaplan [Enlarge in New Window]

Interview with Ronald Feldman by Susan Yung

April 5, 2003

How did the concept for American Dream come about?

It came about at a Creative Capital retreat last summer at Wells College. Ninety Creative Capital fellows presented their work for five to eight minutes. There was a real high because of all different media, the breadth of subject matter, of the freedom that artists had to integrate different media and subjects, play with it, and do this really serious work. It was an amazing experience.

So the theme presented itself to you?

My original, loose thought was there were artists here that I'd like to work with and there might possibly be a show. I expressed my enthusiasm to Ruby Lerner and Sean Elwood at Creative Capital that the artists selected seemed to be an advanced guard - a nucleus of something important. In further conversations with Sean, we both thought it had to do with products and consumerism. The gallery had a break in its schedule, and we decided to plunge in and mount a big show.

Of course it's based on visual artists, and you've always included video/performance artists in your group shows, but you added dance to this show, which is new for you.

It seemed that the performance artists, the dancers - theater artists - had been collaborating with artists for awhile. The dancers are doing incredible work and breaking new ground as well. Once we decided to open the show to include more than consumerism, it opened up many opportunities, and dance was one of them. It's on video, which is frustrating because we wanted to do more, possibly even have performances. But it was impossible given the timeframe and, in general, it's beyond a gallery's reach. So we decided this was a way to integrate this vibrant work.

How has the reaction been?

It's been fantastic, with a tremendous energy we haven't seen in a group show in a long time - artists experimenting, taking chances. In a way, a number of these artists could be considered second generation Pop artists - using mass media, keeping it entertaining, not dour or didactic. A huge number of artists have told me that they're proud to be in the show because they respect the work of the other artists, and that's a great feeling - for them to make discoveries as well. The show's also giving curators and writers a chance to catch up with artists and see them in a context that puts them in the best light.

And these are artists from all over the country.

Yes. We had trouble limiting it to American artists. Some Canadian artists snuck in. But we had to draw the line somewhere. It got so big that we needed more space than the Mercer St. gallery.

Well if you have performances, next time it's almost a festival!

Yes, a festival by itself. It would've been fun, with live performances, but you need a lot of extra space.

That tomb space is great.

We rented the Broome St. gallery just ten days before the opening, not sure how we would install it. The basement there was easiest for me to curate. It just needed special pieces. Showing the films and videos on those big walls was important, putting a minimal amount of work in there to play off the eeriness of the space. To make the space really click it was important to convince Xenobia [Bailey] that this was a good place for her work. It was total chaos when I showed her the space at the end of the room - this abandoned area - and I asked her to trust me, which she did. I think a lot of artists are pleased with the way their work is installed.

So - how do you think the American dream is doing?

I think artists are always prescient. I sense a great dedication to the American dream - to a higher moral and ethical place in the world. Hope for America. At the same time, artists - mostly pessimistic by nature - are self-critical in their work, and critical in general. It may be the nature of art, of artists, that they can't help but present the portrait of now.

In the end, I think that the American dream is awry. It's not working in a lot of places. It's falling apart, and artists are presenting that and critiquing it. They're not offering solutions, they are simply - brilliantly - portraying where we stand, and all the warts. They're unafraid to do that. The issues are very great, in all kinds of areas, and I think there's a recognition in this show of a struggle to express yourself clearly, and at the same time still have ambiguity and poetry in the work. Artists are reinventing art in many ways now - anything works. It can be traditional, it can be twisting the traditional, it can be totally forgetting the traditional. For art, the show is extremely hopeful. For the country, less so.

Do you have plans for a future group show?

Absolutely. It energized everyone who worked on it. In many ways it was my dream to do this - forget the American Dream! (Laughs.) It was a way to stay current in the field, a way to work given such a large number of artists to look at. Creative Capital is surely doing creative things and finding creative artists. I find as a professional, it was a great resource to tap into. I think we can build on that. I'm elated with the reaction to the show.

Maybe we shouldn't plan too much in the future, we should just say, okay, it's time, let's put together a show. I think the least number of criteria is best, leaving room for more possibilities.