K-HOLE presentation at LA Art Book Fair (all images courtesy of Sohrab Mohebbi, REDCAT Gallery, Los Angeles, unless otherwise noted)
LOS ANGELES — The LA-based artist and comedian Molly Jo Shea asked me where my Dell computer was as I took out my MacBook Pro to take notes on New York collective K-HOLE’s presentation at the LA Art Book Fair, organized by REDCAT. Shea’s comment was spot-on because, after all, this was a panel by the trend forecasting group that coined “normcore” — a utopian term that describes the individual longing for community that leads to mass adaptability — and Dell computers are way more normcore than Apple. Or are they? Steve Jobs’ black turtlenecks are normcore, but so are Dell computers.
“There is no way to not participate in capitalism or be a consumer, and we have to position ourselves in it rather than outside of it,” said Dena Yago, one of the five members that make up K-HOLE. Since 2010, when the collective was founded, K-HOLE members Greg Fong, Sean Monahan, Chris Sherron, Emily Segal, and Dena Yago have explored the language of marketing and advertising. Specifically, the group is interested in elucidating different strategies that companies use on consumers and that consumers fall for without realizing. The collective is currently at work on its next report, which will look at the current state of communications, including interpersonal messaging, and broader social and political campaigns.
Read the full story on Hyperallergic: http://hyperallergic.com/178944/blowing-up-normcore-at-the-la-art-book-fair/
