The Third Sculpture

The first survey of Carey Young's work to be held in the Netherlands was held as part of The Third Sculpture, an international art exhibition in Amsterdam's Bijlmer area.

CONCEPT
Projects of urban renewal often result in a process of gentrification, implying the confrontation between spatial planning with her 'ideal' inhabitants and the existing (organic) infrastructure that originated from an earlier—unsuccessful—attempt at spatial planning. Within the Bijlmermeer, the existing structure is often indicated as an informal melting pot of numerous cultures and religions that organically introduced 'new' rules within the dominant architecture; a mentality that has resulted in a peculiar 'street scene' with a performative quality.

Are artistic expressions relevant, when (institutionally) imposed upon a social environment and to what extent does a neighborhood actually need to be 'artistically enlightened' and at what point does this artistic attempt dissolve within a social environment, thus shifting its context?

As Thomas Hirschhorn's 'The Bijlmer Spinoza-Festival' demonstrated, the local inhabitants embrace a "simple" social proposition in which a festival-like structure connects with intellectualism in a very simple manner. The second edition of the Bijlmer Art International will build upon these ideas, but will primarily concentrate on the (functional) sculpturality of these performative propositions. Several permanent architectural elements such as a pavilion and a restaurant will be introduced as primary base from which further projects will be developed. These constructions will function as sculptures in themselves while also maintaining a social function.

A survey of the work of Bik van der Pol will connect the various locations throughout the area, in which new commissions and/or reconfigurations are realized by Charles Atlas, Stefaan Dheedene, Beatrice Gibson, Liam Gillick, Ernst van der Hoeven, KesselsKramer, Roosje Klap, Ben Kinmont, Germaine Kruip, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Runo Lagomarsino, Gabriel Lester, Nils Norman, Falke Pisano/Luca Frei, Alexandre Singh, Hito Steyerl and Carey Young.

• http://www.e-flux.com/shows/view/9520
• http://www.straatvansculpturen.nl
• http://www.thethirdsculpture.nl