“An Exchange with Sol LeWitt”: Instructions for Participants
Instructions for participants in “An Exchange with Sol LeWitt” to receive their catalogues are as follows. Please read the instructions carefully; in the spirit of Sol LeWitt, we ask that you follow them exactly!
We are hapy to announce that the catalogue for “An Exchange with Sol LeWitt” has now been printed. Thank you for your patience.
The catalogue is available free to all participants in the exhibition, with a limit of one free catalogue per participant. (For groups, teams, collectives, pairs, and other such collaborative participants, there is a limit of two catalogues per collaborative, regardless of the number of participants in the collaborative.)
There is only one way to receive your catalogue if you cannot pick it up in person:
Pay to have the catalogue shipped to you. You may pay shipping and handling and have your free catalogue sent to you. Go here to place an order. Again, the limit is one catalogue per participant. Orders for more than one catalogue cannot be honored. Due to shipping constraints, it is not possible to bundle orders.
Please note:
• If you do not want a catalogue, there is no need to inform us of your wish.
• Catalogues are free only for participants. If you know someone who’d like to purchase one (or if you’d like additional copies), we have a few additional copies that we can offer for sale. The link for purchasing a catalogue at the regular price ($10 + shipping & handling) is here.
Thank you.
* * *
A two-part exhibition co-presented by MASS MoCA and Cabinet
Curated by Regine Basha
Cabinet: 20 January–5 March 2011
MASS MoCA: 22 January–31 March 2011
For a PDF with the location of “An Exchange with Sol LeWitt” participants’ work, click here. Please note that this log was updated on 14 February 2011.
The story of Sol LeWitt’s exchanges with other artists is by now widely known. Though most artists engage in this process at one point or another, LeWitt seemed fully committed to it as an artistic code of conduct, a way of life. Eva Hesse, Robert Mangold, Hanna Darboven, and Robert Ryman are just a few of LeWitt’s celebrated contemporaries with whom the artist exchanged works. Such exchanges were not limited to well-known artists, however: LeWitt consistently traded works with admirers whom he did not know but who had nevertheless sent their work to him, as well as amateur artists with whom he interacted in his daily life. LeWitt’s exchanges—he responded to every work he received by sending back one of his own—fostered an ongoing form of artistic communion and, in some cases, a source of support and patronage. The Sol LeWitt Private Collection retains all of the works he received, as well as a record of what he offered in return.
For LeWitt, the act of exchange seemed to be not only a personal gesture, but also an integral part of his conceptual practice. In addition to encouraging the circulation of artworks through a gift economy that challenged the art world’s dominant economic model, LeWitt’s exchanges with strangers have the same qualities of generosity, and risk, that characterized his work in general. This kind of exchange was designed to stage an encounter between two minds, outside the familiar confines of friendship.
If we consider the process of exchange as another of Sol LeWitt’s instructional pieces, then the rational (or irrational) thing to do is to continue to exchange work and ideas, if only symbolically, with him.
This is a call to those who share an affinity with Sol LeWitt’s legacy as a conceptual artist, to those who knew him and those who did not — to anyone who has ever wondered, “What would Sol LeWitt like?”
Guidelines
Note: submissions are no longer being accepted.
Your gift to Sol LeWitt can take the form of an image, an object, a piece of music, or a film. Books, ephemera, and other non-perishable items (e.g. wine), are also welcome. Other ideas may be discussed with the curator.
2D contributions should be no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches; 3D contributions should be no larger than 12 x 12 x 12 inches.
All contributions will be exhibited at either Cabinet or MASS MoCA. The curator will notify you of the location of your contribution by 1 December 2010.
Contributions can be dropped off, mailed, emailed, or faxed between September 15th and October 15th (submissions are no longer being accepted):
An Exchange with Sol LeWitt
c/o Cabinet
300 Nevins Street
Brooklyn NY 11217, USA
Fax: + 1 718 222-3700
Email: exchangelewitt@gmail.com
A publication documenting the contributions will accompany the shows and will be presented at the conclusion of the project to all participants.
Please note that we cannot return your contribution. You can, however, pick it up at the end of the exhibition if prior arrangements have been made.
FAQs
When should I send my work?
Between September 15 and October 15, 2010. Submissions are no longer being accepted.
Where should I send my work?
Contributions can be dropped off, mailed, emailed, or faxed:
An Exchange with Sol LeWitt
c/o Cabinet
300 Nevins Street
Brooklyn NY 11217, USA
Fax: + 1 718 222-3700
Email: exchangelewitt@gmail.com
Will you be showing all the work submitted or is there a selection process?
All works received will be exhibited at either Cabinet or at MASS MoCA.
If I submit a video, how will you show it?
Videos will be compiled into a single program and shown on a monitor. We ask that you send videos as Quicktime files (via your ftp site, yousendit.com, or pando.com). Please make sure that your video begins with title credits and your name.
How will my emailed image be shown?
If it is black-and-white, we can print it out on a laser printer. If it is a color image, we ask that you send a hard copy by mail to the Cabinet address. We can also show digital color images as part of a laptop slide show, if you prefer. Please make sure all hard copy submissions are 8 ½" x 11" or smaller.
Does my work need to be framed?
No. You may choose to frame it if you wish, but it is not necessary. If you have any specific hanging materials please include them.
How should I identify my work?
Please include a checklist or label for the work.
I received a gift from Sol LeWitt. May I submit that as my contribution to the show?
Yes, if you think that is what Sol LeWitt would like.
Does it matter if I knew LeWitt?
No.
Were you joking when you said wine could be sent?
No.
Are you able to incorporate a sound or musical piece?
Yes, sound pieces will be compiled into a single program and played on an iPod with multiple headphones. We cannot accomodate sound installations.
Is there a budget to make new work?
No.
Will LeWitt see my work?
LeWitt passed away in 2007.
What do I get in return for the exchange?
All submissions will be documented and published in a book following the conclusion of the exhibition. Each participant will be offered a copy.
What are you curating exactly?
Once all the materials arrive, the curator will decide how the works will be shown and which venue will host which works.
Is my work going into the Sol LeWitt Private Collection?
No.
Will my work be for sale?
No.
Will I receive my work back?
You can pick up your work from either Cabinet or MASS MoCA (depending on its location). Due to the volume of submissions, we cannot ship work back.
Can Cabinet or MASS MoCA store my work after the exhibition?
If your work is not picked up within a week of de-install, we will unfortunately have to discard it.
How do I pick up my work?
The show at Cabinet closes on Saturday, March 5th; artists who are at Cabinet should pick up their work by the end of Saturday March 12th. Cabinet is open weekdays from 10–6 and on Saturdays 12–6. Cabinet has no storage space. If your work is not picked up within a week of de-install, we will unfortunately have to discard it.
The show at MASS MoCA closes on Thursday, March 31st. Artists who are at MASS MoCA can pick up their work from there (several artists have expressly asked for that) or they can pick it up from Cabinet once the works are brought back to NYC. We do not yet know when the truck with the works will come but will post it here as soon as we have the information.
For further information, please contact Regine Basha at exchangelewitt@gmail.com.
