Banks Violette at Team, 2004

Banks Violette 1

Banks Violette 2


Michael Phelan at Andrew Kreps, 1997

Michael Phelan

Phelan Rack-Master

The point here being not that there's plagiarism but two emotional workings of a very similar Minimalist theme. Both artists use polyurethane-coated planks of foam, skeletal piping and fluorescents--Phelan to evoke a Valley-boy world of swimming pools and tanning booths and Violette the drums, Stygian caverns, and concert stages of black metal (or black metal by way of Berlin?). Institutions have no memory so I appointed myself.

UPDATE: I need a new screen and/or computer. Just noticed on someone else's machine that the Phelan detail had spots all over it. (Mostly) fixed now.

- tom moody 12-07-2004 8:17 pm

This show coming up at Black & White (Wburg) makes me think of these two also.


- barry (bloggy.com) 12-08-2004 7:45 am


Ross Knight too?
- sally mckay 12-08-2004 8:46 pm


Yeah, I think Banks has been greatly influenced by his Team gallerymate Ross Knight. The work fits into that "secondary structures" dynamic I took a stab at defining a while back. An interesting show would be Knight, Phelan, Rachel Harrrison, and Banks. It won't happen, though, since the art world likes to pretend that individuals rather than movements come up with this stuff. I'd do the show if someone paid me $30,000.

- tom moody 12-08-2004 10:33 pm





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