Bill Claps "Enduring Conundrum‪"‬

“Enduring Conundrum” is a catalogue of works by New York artist Bill Claps from his two most recent series: “Artspeak” and “It’s all Derivative”. The catalogue is published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name at Evartspace Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland April 30 to June 4, 2014, curated by Flaminia Scauso.  


The catalogue includes images of mixed media works that are executed by combining a number of artistic mediums, including video, photography, painting, drawing and printmaking.  The artworks in the "Artspeak" series investigate the use of language in contemporary art journalism and critique, analysing the reaction of ordinary people when confronted with this language, revealing how they respond to contemporary art.  The works in the series “It’s All Derivative” comment on the practice of appropriation and iconic veneration in the world of art, combining borrowed imagery from the past with the visual language of Morse Code. 


The video installation from the exhibition, "Enduring Conundrum", included in the iBook, captures individuals from all walks of life repeating phrases taken from press releases of art exhibitions, while gilded mixed media works produced by the artist translate these phrases into Morse code. 


The Essay section of the iBook includes texts by art critics, curators, art historians, and journalists commenting on the role and the evolution of Artspeak.  Curator Flaminia Scauso: “Images, icons and codes inhabit Claps’ studio, where art becomes a kind of blueprint. Each time he creates a work, Claps produces a metalinguistic message and each encoded element of the message collaborates to define the code itself.  Claps interprets his role as a collective translator and asks himself: “Is it all derivative?” And if so why do we still talk about it?”