Keith Tyson

I bought a Keith Tyson deck of cards at Pace the other week. I originally got it for my husband because it had one NASA card inside the deck and he loves NASA. But that was stupid - I later realized - because I'm sure NASA has a whole deck of their own cards in some gift shop and having Nasa as a part of his deck was clearly not that important to Tyson -- it was one of many cultural symbols mixed with patterned cards that were reminiscent of the patterns on the back of cards without matching exactly.

The deck of cards went with the exhibition that was up which included large (30x40?) 'paintings' of cards. They were very well done (almost sleek but still not quite machine???? or maybe still machine but not too shiny??) They obviously referenced playing cards and were displayed on a dark green wall that helped reinforce this idea of a card playing table. They lined the walls and contained different images that ranged from a girl with a ball gag in her mouth to a kitschy kitten to the NASA symbol. They had a presence about them - esp. with the green wall drawing you in from outside in the street. I liked them.

In looking Tyson up, I found other images like the ones above of a previous Pace show. I wish I would have seen that one! It has a similar feel of a collector or maker of multiples that are the similar yet different.

from Haunch of Venison:

"Keith Tyson (b 1969, England) has an interest in the way the world works, our place in it as individual human beings and the interconnected-ness of every aspect of the universe....In the late '90s, after years of working with machines and methods based on randomness..."

from Wikipedia:

"His work is concerned with an interest in generative systems, and an embrace of the complexity and interconnectedness of existence. Philosophical problems such as the nature of causality, the roles of probability and design in human experience, and the limits and possibilities of human knowledge, animate much of his work. Tyson works in a wide range of media, including painting, drawing and installation."

Wow. Wikipedia! ...interesting ...