Joseph Kosuth
A Short History of 'Text/Context', 1977 - 1979
January 15 - March 5, 2011
Leo
Castelli
Gallery
is
pleased
to
announce
Joseph
Kosuth,
A
short
history
of
‘Text/Context’
1977-‐1979.
For
the
first
time
since
its
creation,
this
seminal
work
by
the
famed
conceptual
artist
is
explored
in
detail.
‘Text/Context’
was
first
realized
in
1978
and
1979.
The
work
consisted
of
text
installed
on
two
billboards,
which
created
a
visual
dialogue
with
each
other.
It
was
installed
in
various
cities
in
Europe
and
North
America
(including
New
York,
where
it
could
be
seen
in
Soho,
on
Houston
and
Broadway).
As
‘Text/Context’
was
produced
as
a
public
installation,
the
only
way
the
work
could
be
privately
owned
was
to
purchase
fragments
of
the
actual
billboards.
In
Kosuth’s
words:
“The
relation
of
part
to
the
whole
is
a
device,
in
this
case,
which
describes
both
the
internal
and
external
organization.”
In
the
present
exhibition,
on
view
is
an
original
billboard
fragment,
together
with
a
set
of
19
black
and
white
photographs
documenting
the
historical
billboard
installations.
On
view
also
is
‘Context/Text’,
a
work
which
predates
‘Text/Context’
by
one
year
and
directly
informed
it.
‘Context/Text’
consists
of
text
applied
directly
to
the
wall.
Even
before
removing
his
work
from
the
gallery/museum
wall
and
taking
it
outdoors,
with
‘Context/Text’
Mr.
Kosuth
already
asserted
that
there
is
no
such
thing
as
a
neutral
space
for
art,
and
that
the
meaning
of
art
always
depends
on
where
it
is
made
and
where
it
is
exhibited.
Here,
it’s
not
enough
to
simply
put
the
meaning
of
this
work
in
context.
Instead,
Kosuth
self-‐referentially
insists
in
the
text
‘messages’
and
diagrams
of
‘Context/Text’,
that
context
enables
the
meaning
of
content,
puts
that
meaning
in
play.
‘Context/Text’
exemplifies
Kosuth’s
vital
engagement
during
the
1970’s
with
the
social
context
of
art.
The
two
essential
questions
that
are
posed
as
a
pairing
in
both
works
are
these:
Where
does
art
find
its
audience?
What
does
art
say
to
that
audience?
The
billboard
installations
of
‘Text/Context’,
as
well
as
Kosuth’s
use
of
billboards
in
‘The
Second
Investigation’
from
a
decade
earlier,
have
had
an
enormous
impact
on
subsequent
generations
of
artists
including
Felix
Gonzalez-‐Torres
and
Jenny
Holzer.
For
additional
information,
please
contact
Jessica
Duffett
at
Jessica@castelligallery.com
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