Life on Mars

These are the final days for the Carnegie Museum of Art's 55th Carnegie International entitled Life on Mars. Located in Pittsburgh, the Carnegie currently presents the International every three years. Bringing together contemporary art from around the world, this edition of the International explored themes of both outer space as well as the place of humans in this world.

I specifically went to see Barry McGee's (TWIST) huge installation but also enjoyed work by David Shrigley, Daniel Guzman, and Rivane Neuenschwander who presented a wall full of stated wishes printed on ribbons. Visitors were asked to pick out of one the ribbons to wear on their wrists until it wore down and fell off. At that point the wish is supposed to come true. They were also asked to write a wish of their own and insert it into the hole in the wall where the ribbons were hanging from.


Daniel Guzman had large scale black and white drawings on paper that were mounted on wood. These were part of a series called "La Búsqueda del Ombligo (The search for the navel)


David Shrigley took over the museum's Treasure Room and inserted his own brand of wry humor into the cases. There was his version of a ceramic Darth Vader and a taxidermied cat standing on its hind legs holding a sign that stated, "I'm Dead", giving a new voice to the cat.
















Life on Mars runs through this Sunday, January 11, 2009 at
The Carnegie Museum of Art
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA