The fields of law, anthropology and natural sciences are not often associated with art. But for Mary Ellen Carroll (b. 1961), they’re tools with which the artistic world can be expanded and challenged. For more than four decades, the conceptual artist has tackled some of the most urgent issues of our times, including environmentalism, architecture and technological infrastructure, immigration and urban legislature, as well as Carroll’s enduring engagement with questions of sexuality and gender, identity and being. Now, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston presents the first major museum exhibition of their work.
One central question lies at the heart of the show: What do we consider to be a work of art? Time and time again, audiences are invited to ponder this problem. Perhaps no piece does this better than My Death is Pending…Because (1986-ongoing). The multidisciplinary series includes: a coffee tin containing Carroll’s father’s ashes; two photographs of a car crashed into the side of a Munich Museum; two identical photographs of musician Jose Feliciano taken from the inside cover of his 1969 album alive alive-o!; and a video of the artist – clad in a polar bear suit – climbing a defunct smokestack in Memphis, Tennessee and dumping the ashes down the pipe. Here, the absurd takes centre stage, drawing inspiration from renowned cartoonist Rube Goldberg’s stream-of-consciousness methodology.
Carroll takes aim at countless institutions, from museums and galleries to governments and zoning ordinances. Each time, they tackle issues with a characteristic dry wit and documentary tactics. Prototype 180 is the result of the artist acquiring a post-war home in Houston, which remains a legendary intervention into urban policy. The building evolved into a wide-ranging programme of performances, tours, alterations, debates, legal challenges and exhibitions. In November 2010, she rotated the house 180 degrees. The years following saw Carroll make additions and changes, including adding porcelain cladding to the façade and a super wifi system from unused television frequencies. The piece reached a dramatic climax on 11 November 2017, when the structure was demolished.
The exhibition, in its entirety, is a testament to a multifaceted figure, who continues to demonstrate how art can address the politics of social, physical and ideological structures. As Senior Curator, Rebecca Matalon, says: “Carroll is that unique kind of artist who continually reminds you of the power of art and artists to inspire radical change, in ourselves and the world.”
Mary Ellen Carroll: How To Talk Dirty and Influence People is at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston until 1 November: camh.org
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1&4. Mary Ellen Carroll, indestructible language, 2006/2021–ongoing. Installation view at the Schoolhouse, Glasgow (October 2021–ongoing). Courtesy the artist / MEC, Studios. Photo: Dougie Lindsay.
2. Mary Ellen Carroll, No. 9 (My Death is Pending…Because.) Night of Destruction with Fireworks Demolition Derby, 2017 (production still). Video. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Michele Asselin.
3. Mary Ellen Carroll, Federal, 2003 (still). Video. Courtesy the artist.
