What's in a name?

(Brice Marden drawing)

We have a date! Donkey Trail will open May 20, 2010.

That said, will the show be called Donkey Trail or will that be the name of its blog only?

This exhibition project began as a proposition: create a show through a process of one-thing-leads-to-the-next, of deal-with-each-obstacle-as-it-comes. The result, it was posited, would be inadvertent, instinctive and therefore a fresh departure from concept-laden curating.

Six months down the line, much has changed - much that I cannot disclose here - and it has become clear to me that everything is inevitably a process of one-thing-leads-to-the-next and I always deal-with-each-obstacle-as-it-comes. And while the art that I am drawn to is often a visible reflection of this approach, I do not think the work I have chosen suggests this first and foremost. All together, it points more immediately to something else (namely the line, but more about this another time). Moreover, although literalness is never a good place for art, the work in the show all has little to do with donkeys.

There are pluses, however. The name Donkey Trail has humor and humility, and it does imply a meandering path that at once makes logical sense and does not, which is in fact a good way to see the selected pieces. Furthermore, it’s the name that exists. So be it.

Stay tuned. Alternatives ahead.