Michael Weinstein

One of the stars of England's contemporary art world, Gillian Wearing shows what happens when postmodern playfulness and social criticism blend with traditional photographic genres like street photography and portraiture in our incoherent cultural environment. In the most characteristic and direct of her projects, Wearing took her camera out on the streets of London, collared a wide variety of passersby, gave them a big blank white sign and told them to write on it whatever came into their heads. She then had them hold the sign aloft as she took color snapshots. Alas, pursuing the worthy objective of getting common men and women to speak for themselves, rather than simply doing what the photographer wants, here yields platitudes, canned ideologies, resentful moralizing and tired jokes. Devoid of conscious irony, two sweet-looking young punks announce: "We Are the Hardcore."

Gillian Wearings "Mass Observation" is showing at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 East Chicago, (312)280-2660, through January 19.

(2002-11-13)

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