Institutional Critique Flair Button (2011) is a public art intervention by Charles Gute in the form of a freely distributed button. A deceptively simple object, the text democratizes art discourse while playfully suggesting the co-optation of critique through scripted marketing. Originally presented as part of a series of conference badge interventions funded by an Alternative Exposure Grant at the College Art Association Conference (Chicago, 2010), this project was commissioned by Southern Exposure on the occasion of the Warhol Initiative Convening in San Francisco June 2011, a conference organized by the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts.
To extend the work into the public sphere, buttons have been left in the free distribution areas of the following arts organizations: Southern Exposure, Intersection for the Arts (both San Francisco), Kala Art Institute (Berkeley), MacArthur B Arthur (Oakland), and San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (San Jose). Interested parties may also email their mailing address to [email protected] to receive a button by mail while supplies last.
New York-based artist Charle Gute has been featured in exhibitions at the Holter Museum of Art, the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, and the Hammer Museum, among other institutions. His work has been featured in FlashArt, Artnews, the San Francisco Chronicle, SF Weekly, ArtLies, and Fillip Review. He exhibits with Jason Rulnick, Inc., Catharine Clark Gallery, and Gallerie Feinkost. This is his fourth collaborative project with Invisible Venue. For more information on the artist, see www.charlesgute.com.
Edition description: "Institutional Critique Flair Button" (2011) by Charles Gute. Metal button with Mylar coating, red text on white background. Unsigned, unlimited edition. 1.5 inches in diameter, plus metal pin back width. 100% Made in the USA. Front: "ASK ME ABOUT OUR NEW CRITIQUE OF INSTITUTIONAL CRITIQUE!" Back: "This is public art. www.invisiblevenue.com (C)Charles Gute, 2011"