Alt-D
Future Development (2018) 

Curated by Alli Miller and Valerie Skakun. With Autumn Ahn and Laura Hunt.

Exhibition Text
Press Release

Turning the canon of relational aesthetics against the notion of an undifferentiated public, Alt-D performed as both a critique and a catalyst for the emergent political landscape. Why is it impossible to imagine a community of men as anything but a frathouse or a police force? 

A rotating staff of women artists were asked to plan a formal dinner for a male-only guest list in the days following the 2016 election. The ongoing series became, politically, a counter-reactionary response to both the impotence of neoliberal feminism and the ensuing rise of the alt-right male supremacy movement-- and, personally, a means to effectively radicalize our friend zone. (Thanks, guys!) 

The first iteration of Alt-D took place in the rotunda of a soon-to-be-demolished morgue. Eight customized JENGA sets functioned as both participatory framework and metaphor for contemporary masculinity. Rented tables and chairs gave the space the look and feel of either a homegrown political faction or an AA meeting. Billed as a potluck, the only food we provided was difficult to eat without utensils-- which we provided, but only spoons. This was a dry event. 

The dinner was observed via a nannycam system concealed in the morgue and that we could watch from the women’s bathroom over a bottle of wine.