Barbara is the brainchild of the Guggenheim award winning artist Marvin Gates. Gates grew up in the contemporary art world, the child of a collector who became a dealer. He brings his child’s love and insider’s knowledge of that world to everything he makes.
In the 2010 essay, A Wandering Minstrel, by John Goodrich, Barbara was described as a kind of artist’s manifesto against the commercialization of art. That makes sense, except for two points: the commercial contemporary art market, for all intents and purposes, was Gates’ foster parent and, second, the artist has already rebelled enough for one lifetime: see the who page for details. Although, it is difficult to think that a person as knowledgeable as Gates would choose to exhibit his work this way, unless he had a reason. This is the reason: when Gates follows the trajectory of the present day, super-commercial art world, he’s reminded of watching someone he loves self-destruct; and, Barbara is Gates’ vain attempt to delay that from happening. In the final analysis, though, Gates wants to show his paintings. He determined that Barbara is the better way to do that.
People asks, “What is it?” The persistence of the question, leads you to think that the answer should be, “It must be something new.” For Gates, though, the insistence on an answer is a byproduct of our hyperactive art world. There is very little time to savor an idea. It must be consumed. And, therefore, his answer follows, in the form of Q’s and A’s:
Q: “Where, in what places exactly, are artists and art dealers found, today?”
A: “For their usual places, battles have been waged, by Charlatans and Rug Merchants (ChaRM) against artists and art dealers, respectively. That’s been going on for some time. And, the onslaughts have been effective. The former have gained the studios and galleries, the latter have lost.”
Q: “Why hasn’t more been said about this?”
A: “Shame is a great muzzler. And, reporters on this beat have suffered from battle fatigue and a high rate of attrition. Art critics fear for their livelihoods, too.
Barbara’s Specs:
- Barbara is five feet high, eight feet wide and three feet deep. Her measurements conform to the New York City Code and Rules for general vendors.
- She is made of welded steel covered in an epoxy rubber commonly sprayed on the beds of pick-up trucks.
- Barbara rolls on forged steel wheels.
- The interior walls have eight niches. In each, hangs a painting on steel. The paintings are lit from below, through the openings at the bottoms of the niches.
- The following art media comprise Barbara: sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography, video, installation and performance.