Romney arguably has a valid point
WHEN Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told an Iowa crowd last August that “corporations are people, my friend,” his remark drew jeers.
But in a country where corporations are allowed the person-like right to free “speech,” which allows their money to flow freely in elections, Romney arguably had a point — in more ways than one.
Inspired in part by his remark, but not taking a definitive stance on the issue, is “Corporations Are People Too,” a new exhibition at the Winkleman Gallery in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood.
The small group show, open through February 4, looks at the corporate images and messages that are omnipresent in our everyday lives. The works in the show run the gamut from vintage photographs by Lewis Hine, Dorothea Lange and Berenice Abbott to contemporary works like the artist Kota Ezawa’s cheery-creepy lightboxes redrawn from pages of an Ikea catalogue.
Phillip Toledano began “Bankrupt,” a study of abandoned offices, in early 2001, but the two scenes of vacant corporate space shown here could have come from any of the number of companies that went belly-up more recently. A lonely “Teamwork” poster hangs in one shot; in the other, two pencils stuck in the ceiling might be the last remnants of an office goofball.
Ian Davis’s 2011 painting “Conversation” shows a phalanx of yes-men in suits raising one arm each towards an empty stage, saluting no one in particular.
A painting by Chris Dorland shows the shiny, happy people of magazine ads, here not selling anything. “Restoration Hardware,” his firstever video, is a moving collage of advertisements from the 1980s onward.
In a phone interview, the Montreal-born, New Yorkbased Dorland said that one theme he explores is the adfueled idea that “consumption will lead you to happiness.”
“If you live in the world and pay attention,” you can’t help but feel that’s garbage, he said, “but it’s built into the fabric of our existence.”
One of the works to stand out in the show is “Lenin for Your Library?”, the result of Yevgeniy Fiks’ effort to donate V I Lenin’s “Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism” to 100 major corporations.
Fiks received a response from 34 companies, and whether they accepted or rejected the book, their letters — which range from indifferent to sincere to self-promotional — are revealing.
“We hope to have the opportunity of serving you sometime soon under the Golden Arches,” wrote a representative of Mcdonald’s.
“We hope all of your Sony purchases bring you many hours of enjoyment,” wrote a Sony employee. Wendy’s even sent a coupon in response.
While the show does not make a statement of its own on corporate influence, gallery owners Edward Winkleman and Murat Orozobekov say they hope it starts a conversation on the complicated role corporations play in our lives.
Corporate rights have been a particularly hot topic because of Occupy Wall Street, but the men point out that protesters at Zuccotti Park could be seen with iphones and coffee from the nearby Starbucks.
“You can’t just say corporations are bad,” Winkleman said. “Does that mean millions of people are bad by association?”