These new works being shown below form part of my investigation into notions of originality by directly referencing specific bodies or works of art. The implicit critique is also an acknowledgement of the unavoidability of influence and becomes a tool for locating personal meaning within the 'original' sources. Much like when a song is covered, remixed or mashed up, the act of redoing transcends blind copy, since the effort is simultaneously based in a serious commitment to the original, and the potential for something completely new.
2008 (Detail View) - Hardbound Book (330 x 280 mm), 70 pages - Open Edition
This work is a recontextualisation of the first chapter of C.K. Scott Moncrieff's 1922 translation of Marcel Proust's Swann's Way (1913), up until the 'Madeleine Moment' of recollection. The text is reconstructed using short phrases cited from other published personal, fictional and philosophical narratives that do not directly reference Proust. The two framed prints that are on view are plates of the first and last spreads of the hardbound 70 page book that is now available on demand.
Dual Self-Portrait As Douglas Gordon As Self-Portrait As
2008 - Digital Prints - 600 x 800 mm - Edition of 5
This work is based on Douglas Gordon’s 1996 photograph. This work extends Gordon’s investigation into self and identity by offering two additional portraits as one work; the pairing of the artist with another artist, Anna Maltz. This is the first in a series of ‘Dual Self-Portraits’ that will pair the artist with another subject, all referencing the same work. Commissions are available on request.
STOLE LWIT, Version 1. (For Samuel Yates)
2008 - Ink on Wall (Wood, Screws, Plaster Board, Paint) ≈3700 x 3700 mm
This work is technically, in every practical sense, a Sol LeWitt. This wall drawing was executed from a LeWitt drawing, a doodle drawn by the artist during his 2000 retrospective at SFMOMA, and exactly executed by a trained member from his crew (myself). By having the wall made into a discrete object, though a very large one, the work further draws attention to the issues surrounding originality, artist intent and the portability of ideas.
Often Better Thought About (2006- )
A Bar of Distinctions (coming soon)
Instances of Transcendent Bliss (2006- )
Temp Work (2005-06)
Lucky Tackle (2002-05)
Good For Nothin' Tube Squeezer (1999-2000)
Transmundane Diversions
23 September - 20 October, 2006
The Office - An Art Space
5122 Bolsa Avenue Suite 110
Huntington Beach, California
The Office is pleased to announce: Transmundane Diversions, an installation of new work by Adam Rompel. For this exhibition, three distinct bodies of work are presented that find commonality in emphasizing the abstracted moment. Adam Rompel was born and raised in Los Angeles. He received his BA in Art Practice with a focus on New Genres & Installation from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998. Since school, Rompel had exhibited regularly until he decided "to open a gallery that I would like to show in" (Lucky Tackle, 2002 - 2005). Most recently, he participated in New Langton Art's Five Habitats: Squatting at Langton. Currently, he splits his time between Oakland and San Francisco._________________________________
Five Habitats: Squatting at Langton
18 - 22 July, 2006New Langton Arts
1246 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CaliforniaFive Habitats: Squatting at Langton is a laboratory-style, experiential exhibition modeled after Jock Reynolds' 1978 show Five Habitats for Five Members. In 2006, Langton asked artist curators John Baldessari, Keith Boadwee, Matthew Higgs, Joseph del Pesco, and Anne Walsh to each invite five artists for one-week intervals to occupy and activate the gallery space. Architect Kyu Che designed the five habitats in the gallery to be transformed by each of the artists into open studios, exhibition spaces, lounges, working stations, discussion forums, screening venues, performance settings, and more.
Adam Rompel presents Temp Work, a new body of work born out of the realization that the office job he took to fund his next project became an unintentional all-consuming career. This moment of recognition offered the artist a solution to his job-bound artist's dilemma. He decided to surreptitiously make works on the job. Rompel reconstructs Minimal and Land Art forms of the 60s and 70s, produced with new and discarded materials from the office supply and break rooms. "The job, which was an obstacle for art production, has become the ephemeral vehicle for creating work that is equally temporary and disposable,” explains the artist.
For the New Langton show, Rompel has invited the NLA staff and the architect back into the "squatted" space. During gallery hours, the space will be divided up into individual workstations for the staff, architect & artist. Each day, a new piece will be created and will replace the previous day's efforts.
"Andre" (Left) & "Christo & Jeanne-Claude," from the series Temp Work, 2006.
From the SF Weekly.com:
In Its Natural Setting
By Hiya Swanhuyser
What would you do if you could do anything you wanted in an art gallery for a week? "Five Habitats" uses architect Kyu Che's specially designed enclosures to find out what more than 20 creative types do, as each person or team "squats" a spot for seven days. Last week featured a listening lounge dedicated to Devendra Banhart and the Hairy Fairy Band, a ?zine display, and some of the personal belongings of Kathy Acker. This week's installations (the opening reception is on Tuesday, July 18) are curated by Keith Boadwee and include Katrina Lamb's odd songs (a new one every day at 12:30 p.m.) and an elaborate diorama by Case Simmons and Calvin Trezise. But the standout looks to be Adam Rompel's recreations of classic 1970s Land Art, like Christo's Running Fence, which he's made from office supplies. His temp job, Rompel says, "... which was an obstacle for art production, has become the ephemeral vehicle for creating work that is equally temporary and disposable." Future highlights are a Bugs Bunny?inspired video by Sergio de la Torre, the death scenes of Dawn Kasper, and a week curated by John Baldessari.
Opening receptions start at 7 p.m. and continue Tuesdays through Aug. 8 (the final exhibition continues through Aug. 12) Starting July 18, Tuesdays. Continues through Aug. 8. New Langton Arts, 1246 Folsom (at Eighth St.), San Francisco, 415-626-5416, http://www.newlangtonarts.org.