Christopher D’Arcangelo: A Museum for Everyone

About

On July 15, 1975, conceptual artist Christopher D’Arcangelo walked into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, sat down on a bench in the lobby and proceeded to chain his ankle to it. Directly next to him he placed a stack of paper, on which he had Xeroxed his Open Museum Proposal.

Until the museum’s security department cut the chain and rushed him out, D’Arcangelo stood his ground in one of New York’s major institutions. This would be one of seven ‘unauthorized performances’ he would go on to complete between 1975–1978, all of which questioned the role of institutions and our access to them. 

To celebrate the launch of the first-ever monograph on D’Arcangelo’s work—which we are excited to be publishing together with Artists Space, New York—Kunstverein has followed D’Arcangelo’s cue and transformed into a radio station with the help of Phantom Radio, a roaming pirate radio station hosted by Ine Meganck and Valentijn Goethals. For seven consecutive days, twenty-four hours a day, we will stage (at least in part) this never-realized proposal. While archival material, correspondence and people surrounding D’Arcangelo’s practice—such as Annie Ochmanek and Julia Steenhuisen—will be included in the broadcast, the invitation has also been extended to you. To stay abreast of what’s on (air), a full program of broadcasters is available on our website and updated daily throughout the week.

On October 13, during the last hour of the broadcast, we will launch Christopher D’Arcangelo, the first estate-approved monograph on the artist. The book, published in collaboration with Artists Space, New York, is edited by Yana Foqué and Isabelle Sully, designed by Marc Hollenstein and includes contributions from Daniel Buren, Louise Lawler, Nicholas Martin, Peter Nadin, Janelle Reiring and Jay Sanders, Heji Shin and Cathy Weiner. It will be available for €30 on the evening (or €15 for members).