American Artists Peer Through Eastern Lens in Guggenheim Exhibit

CORRECTION APPENDED.

From record auction prices to the spectacle success of Cai Guo Qiang’s I Want to Believe exhibit, Asia’s visible influence in the art world is undeniable. The Guggenheim’s sprawling new show, "The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989", fits peculiarly into this vein.

Not focusing on Asian art per se, the show aims to deconstruct notions of the hegemony of European influence on American art, and instead proposes a new narrative by tracing the influence of Asian visuals and philosophy. While meticulously defended in dense wall texts (which are informative, yet too much for a museum show’s purpose), the show lies on shaky ground, and will probably not alter the paradigm it aims to reshape.

From the beginning, the exhibit demonstrates organizational flaws. An expected history of 19th century Japonisme shares a tiny space with artists from the early 20th century who embraced Asian spirituality and ideas. Why would an exhibit that touts its temporal breadth (1860-1989) relegate nearly a century of artistic production to a single side gallery? The section feels obligatory, and should have either been omitted or given its dues. This treatment seems to highlight curatorial desires to showcase, albeit through a new lens, heroes of postwar art.

The exhibit, consequently, does amass a remarkable collection of these postwar works, including the lavish yet morbid golden space of James Lee Byars’ The Death of James Lee Byars, Robert Rauschenberg’s Gold Standard, a jumble of junk collected from Tokyo streets and assembled for an audience, and Mark Tobey’s remarkable anticipation of abstract expressionism, Crystallizations.

Meanwhile, a highlight is a section noting the formal and philosophical debts of abstract expressionists to Asian calligraphy, showcasing Franz Klein (and his idiosyncratic relationship with Asian influence) and a surprising little Pollock. Though this particular idea is debated, the show’s mission rings most true here. It is also at this point and on where the show’s “widely accepted view” of European influence loses relevancy.

"The Third Mind" moves on to examine Buddhism and the neo-avant-garde, a culmination that could have served a successful end but does not. Here, figures from Jasper Johns to Jack Kerouac find an intriguing and jam-packed home arranged by John Cage’s chance operations method.

Later sections on Minimalism and performance art fail to deliver the enlightening finale suggested by the physical journey up the rotunda and through the new narrative. We are given only the puppeteer behind Ann Hamilton’s quirkily conceptual human carriage, a site-specific installation that slides and chimes distractingly down the museum ramps.

By this point, actual connections to Asian ideas become increasingly stretched and less convincing, and the show’s premise falters with contemplation. While connections with Asia are documented in every work, how can we understand what is Asian based on books and travels? Can concepts like unity and spirituality be claimed “Asian” in an art world of dissolving national boundaries? Similarly, what constitutes the title’s “American artists?” What place do artists like Yoko Ono—who was born in Japan and exhibited Instructions for Paintings—have? Why hinge the exhibit on an identity that falls apart in the same space?

There is genuine curatorial belief behind "The Third Mind", but the overall validity of its objective remains questionable. While Asian influence is notable with artists like John Cage, the inclusion of others such as Andy Warhol seems forced. Enormous and impressive, the show proves ultimately too ambitious, patchy (movements like social realism are ignored), and problematic. However, for those genuinely interested in the development of 20th century American art, the exhibit will be a thought-provoking and fascinating timeline, studded with interesting, at times refreshingly non-canonical work which makes "The Third Mind" a more cerebral, quiet success.

"The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989" runs through April 19 at the Guggenheim Museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue (at 89th St.). Tickets are $18, or free with CUID.

**Correction: The original print version of this article misstated that name of the exhibition was "The Third Eye: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989." The exhibition is titled "The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989." Spectator regrets the error.