Musée d'Art Contemporain

Taryn Simon

Paperwork and the Will of Capital

07 Sep - 19 Nov 2017

Taryn Simon
Contract to rehabilitate the Lebanese postal system. Beirut, Lebanon, July 22, 1998, Paperwork and the Will of Capital, 2015
Framed text and archival inkjet prints, 215,9 x 186,1 x 7 cm. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery and Almine Rech Gallery
Taryn Simon
Agreement to Develop Park Hyatt St. Kitts under the St. Kitts & Nevis Citizenship by Investment Program. Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 16, 2012
Paperwork and the Will of Capital, 2015
Collection of the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. Courtesy of the Gagosian Gallery
TARYN SIMON
Paperwork and the Will of Capital
7 September - 19 November 2017

The MAC presents Taryn Simon: Paperwork and the Will of Capital as part of the 2017 edition of Momenta – Biennale de l’image.

In signings of political accords, contracts, treaties, and decrees, powerful men flank floral centerpieces curated to convey the importance of the signatories and the institutions they represent. In Paperwork and the Will of Capital, Taryn Simon recreates these centerpieces, photographing them against background and foreground colors keyed by the original decor of the historic ceremonies.

Paperwork and the Will of Capital addresses the instability of executive decision-making and the precarious nature of survival, as well as the reliability and endurance of records. Photographs of the recreated centerpieces from these signings, together with their stories, underscore how the stagecraft of political and economic power is created, performed, marketed, and maintained.




Taryn Simon
Courtesy of the artist
Biography

Taryn Simon (b. 1975) is a multidisciplinary artist working in photography, text, sculpture and performance.

Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at many major museums, including the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2016); Jeu de Paume, Paris (2015); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2012); and Tate Modern, London (2011).

Permanent collections include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, among others. Simon is a graduate of Brown University and a Guggenheim Fellow.
 

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