PAUL MCMAHON, JEFFREY AUGUSTINE SONGCO, EILEEN ISAGON SKYERS
Twenty-first Century Occupational Adjustments and Considerations
Episode 2: One Liners
26 May - 17 June, 2018
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Of the very many ways that the proliferation of screens has impacted contemporary communication, one of the most resonant has been the resurgence of the one line joke. Memes are what we call these infinitely entertaining digital items; they are newfangled one-line funnies, forged from readymade digital images that have been altered by a succinct intercedent gesture. Importantly, making one requires specific consideration of the material and aesthetic qualities of each individual article, tweet, or image as distinct from its content and meaning. Easily created and shared with a smartphone, memes comprise a very significant amount of original online content. Alongside the infinite flow of factual information, then, has evolved a distinctive, aesthetically-grounded approach towards comprehending and connecting with it.
Anchored by Paul McMahon’s clairvoyant 1974 decision to investigate the formal qualities of the era’s newspaper stories, this exhibition grooms this cross-generational kinship by showing those pioneering works alongside Eileen Isagon Skyers’ and Jeffrey Augustine Songco’s astute Information Age observations. The one-line joke model informs each of these works composition and spirit, achieving the pithiness of a successful meme by sharply discomposing meaningful, relevant readymades. Together, McMahon, Skyers, and Songco demonstrate imaginative and subversive aesthetic approaches to materially, culturally, and politically convoluted environments. Episode 2: One Liners continues Twenty-first Century Occupational Adjustments and Considerations, Kendra Jayne Patrick’s ongoing exhibition series centered around art offering fresh perspectives on contemporary life.
JEFFREY AUGUSTINE SONGCO
painted communion wafers mounted on velvet
JEFFREY AUGUSTINE SONGCO
painted communion wafers mounted on velvet
EILEEN ISAGON SKYERS Processing, 2018 (still)
digital video
On the screen: EILEEN ISAGON SKYERS
Processing, 2018
digital video
To the right of the screen:
JEFFREY AUGUSTINE SONGCO
vinyl, mirrored wooden cabinet
PAUL MCMAHON Canary Bird, 2016
oil on cardboard
PAUL MCMAHON
Garth, 1993
pastel on newsprint
PAUL MCMAHON Garth, 1993
pastel on newsprint
PAUL MCMAHON Garth, 1993
pastel on newsprint
PAUL MCMAHON
Busing in Boston, 1974
pastel on newsprint
PAUL MCMAHON
Mild Style, 1984
videotape and ¾ inch videotape (recorded by Ericka Beckman with direction from Tony Oursler)
PAUL MCMAHON Mild Style, 1984 (still)
videotape and ¾ inch videotape (recorded by Ericka Beckman with direction from Tony Oursler)
PAUL MCMAHON Typical Traffic Scene, 1974
pastel on newsprint
JEFFREY AUGUSTINE SONGCO
vinyl, mirrored glass
PAUL MCMAHON Football, 1974
Pastel on newsprint
*This piece was included in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2009 exhibition, “The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984”
PAUL MCMAHON Orange Splat, 2018
oil on cardboard