do it

Verge Center for the Arts is pleased to be participating in the longest-running exhibition ever, do it, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist. do it is a conceptual exhibition that is based on written or drawn instructions from various artists, resulting in a new version of itself with each location it is shown. Verge has chosen twenty instructions from a compendium of 250, and will present them in the form of realized objects, performances, and public engagement. Artists include: Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Amalia Pica, Stephen Kaltenbach, Yoko Ono, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and more. The Opening Party will be Saturday, January 9th, from 6pm – 9pm.

do it began in Paris in 1993 as a conversation between Obrist, Boltanski and Lavier who were curious to see what would happen if they started an exhibition that would never need to stop. To test the idea, Obrist invited 12 artists to propose artworks based on written “scores” or instructions that can be openly interpreted every time they were presented. The instructions were then translated into 9 different languages and circulated internationally as a book. In the 20 years since Obrist, Boltanski and Lavier mused over the potential of “scores,” or written instructions by artists, do it created exhibition formats that could be more flexible and open-ended. Each time it was presented, do it was re-interpreted. Many new versions of the exhibition were formed, including do it (museum), do it (home), do it (TV), do it (seminar), and an online do it in collaboration with e-flux, among others.

The origin and transformation of do it reflects the necessity of exploring collaboration and shared authorship in a constantly evolving art world. The project’s impetus is rooted in the extraordinary effects of globalization on curating and artistic practice in the 1990s, a time that witnessed an unprecedented expansion of the geographies of contemporary art. Twenty years later, do it has taken place in 60+ venues worldwide and includes nearly 400 artists from across the globe, giving new meaning to the concept of an exhibition in progress, while offering infinite creative possibilities for participating audiences everywhere.

Adrian Piper asks audiences to hum a tune in order to enter a room. Ben Kinmont wants us to “invite a stranger into [our] home for breakfast.” Alexandre Singh teaches us how to turn wine into soda. Yoko Ono encourages us to keep wishing. And Mircea Cantor demands that we “burn this book. ASAP,” but John Armleder says to do “None of the above.”