Josh Kline: Project For A New American Century At The Whitney Museum Of American Art
Josh Kline lives and works in New York City and his work speaks to the transformative effects of new technology, capitalism, economic disparity, and climate change on the human race. He is a leading artist of his generation, and while he belongs to a broad community of artists addressing the emerging digital age, his focus on labor and class, and his dark sense of humor set him apart from his peers.
Josh Kline: Project for a New American Century, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, stages over 100 of Kline’s darkly comedic sculptures, photographs, videos, and design works. Broken down into more than half a dozen immersive installations, his work uses the very practices he scrutinizes: image manipulation, data collection, political advertising, and performance-enhancing substances, “aiming them back at themselves.” His exhibition depicts an ominous future of chaos from the perspective of people in the labor force, those who will bear the burden of picking up the pieces.
The exhibition has been organized by Curator, Christopher Y. Lew alongside the Horizon Art Foundation, and is organized into eight themes: Blue Collars, Personal Responsibility, Adaptation, Civil War, Contagious Unemployment, Unemployment, Another America Is Possible, and Creative Labour. A notable theme for me was Unemployment, as the installation was littered with unnervingly lifelike office workers wrapped up in plastic bags to reflect the consequences of automation and the mass layoffs in America. The sculptures were modeled by real-life unemployed lawyers, administrators, and desk workers, whose occupations are predicted to be eliminated by artificial intelligence in the imminent future, bringing a sense of acute realism to his imagined landscape. The models were hired to pose for scans and renderings, and while this was taking place, Kline spoke extensively with them about the nature of income and unemployment, informing an additional video artwork, Universal Early Retirement, playing nearby to his 3D-printed figures.
Another theme that stood out for me was Personal Responsibility, a sculptural installation set in a dystopia devastated by climate disasters. Within this post-apocalyptic landscape, Kline takes inspiration from temporary housing forms used by refugees and migrants. He depicts the tents and shelters as “both a home and a workplace” for future essential workers, those who will have no choice but to go to work despite the risks posed by the climate crisis, while those in higher-paying jobs can safely work from home.
Josh Kline
The Exhibition, Project for a New American Century, stages over a decade of Kline’s work and encapsulates his aim “to create an art that's accessible to the FedEx delivery worker” and those “interested in the society they live in.” Displayed for the first time at the Whitney, his harrowing installations offer a “visceral warning” and advocate for a more compassionate future that considers the well-being of the essential worker.
Article & Photos by Mia Fyson, Graphic Design Intern + Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Opening Tearsheet by Alexa Dyer, Graphic Designer, PhotoBook Magazine
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