October 5, 2023
7:00 p.m. EDT
264 Canal Street, Suite 3W
New York, New York 10013
What’s in a name—an artist’s name? Paintings are authenticated or discredited based on the analysis of a faded signature or characteristic brushstroke; a work’s monetary value, at least, has as much to do with attribution as mastery. But with all of the virtual Van Gogh Experiences, mass-produced Basquiat rugs, AI-generated Murakamis, and art-hearts-fashion collabs (Stella McCartney x Ed Ruscha, Alexander McQueen x Damien Hirst, Supreme x Pope.L), is the artist’s name any different from a brand? And how much is it worth?
For Hard Sell, Triple Canopy will convene a panel on the currency of names and the circumstances that lead the value of some to surge and others to crash. The event is prompted by a contribution to the magazine by the conceptual artist Darren Bader: a contract for the sale of his name—or, rather, the sale of his “practice,” the right to make art under his name. Alongside the legal agreement, Triple Canopy is publishing For Sale by Owner: Darren Bader, a documentary short by Pacho Velez that will be screened as part of Hard Sell. The film asks why Bader, celebrated by critics and coveted by intrepid collectors, sought to exile himself from an art world obsessed with rising stars and “wall power.” Velez speaks with artists, dealers, and curators—including Anicka Yi, Dena Yago, and Kelly Taxter—who weigh in on the conditions driving Bader’s decision, considering the market for brands such as “Darren Bader.”
After the screening, Yago, an artist, writer, and cultural strategist, will be joined in conversation by James N. Kienitz Wilkins, an artist and filmmaker; David Levine, an artist and writer; and Rachel Hunter Himes, a critic and scholar. They’ll discuss the valuation and exploitation of identities in a culture defined by commercialization, and consider the possibilities for opting out or cashing in. They’ll also ask what selling out actually means—and how to determine if the price is right.
Hard Sell is free and open to the public. RSVPing is not mandatory, but we encourage you to register in advance in order to receive updates on the event. Bader’s contract for the sale of his artistic practice (drafted with the lawyer Alfred David Steiner) and Velez’s film will be published in mid-September as part of Triple Canopy’s twenty-eighth issue, True to Life. Velez will be present at Hard Sell; Bader is noncommittal.
Rachel Hunter Himes is a museum worker, critic, and scholar. She is a PhD candidate in the department of art history and archaeology at Columbia University, researching representations of race in the material culture and decorative arts of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe. Her writing on art and museums has appeared in the Nation, n+1, and Jacobin.
Pacho Velez makes films about the shifting signifiers that some might call people. His most recent feature, Searchers (2021), premiered at Sundance. Earlier films have played around the world, including at the New York Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and on CNN. Velez has been awarded a Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival and a Princeton Arts Fellowship. He is an assistant professor of film production at the New School in New York City.
David Levine is an artist and writer based in New York. His recent exhibitions and performances include Fata Morgana at the Jeu de Paume (Paris); Living Coral at MAC Barcelona; Cavern Clay at the MCA Chicago (in the exhibition Parts of Speech, with Triple Canopy), and Some of the People, All of the Time at the Brooklyn Museum. He is the recipient of OBIE and Guggenheim awards, and his writing has appeared in n+1, Triple Canopy, Cabinet, Frieze, Parkett, and Theater. His holographic film Dissolution will be presented as an exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image (New York) in October. He is a professor of performance, theater, and media at Harvard University.
James N. Kienitz Wilkins is a filmmaker and artist. His films and videos have been presented at festivals, museums, cinemas, and other venues around the world. His work was included in the 2017 Whitney Biennial and has been presented in solo exhibitions at Gasworks (London), Spike Island (Bristol), and Kunsthalle Winterthur (Switzerland).
Dena Yago is an artist, writer, and founding member of the trend-forecasting group K-HOLE. She lives in New York City. Her work has recently been presented at JTT Gallery (New York); High Art (Paris); Art Basel Statements; the Frans Hals Musem (Netherlands); and the Hammer Museum (Los Angeles). Her writing has appeared in e-flux journal, Flash Art, and Frieze; she is the author of Fade the Lure (After 8 Books, 2019). Yago also works as a cultural strategist with the artist-based consultancy Applied Arts.
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