Mentions on OMG (Obelisk)
‘Younger Than Jesus’ was well-stocked with crowd pleasers like Chu Yun’s ‘living sculpture’ of a woman sleeping in a bed in the middle of the gallery (This is XX, 2006) and AIDS-3D’s OMG Obelisk (2007) which humorously memorialized IM’s condensed exclamation on the favoured totem of ancient worship.
Anne Wehr
- Frieze Magazine
http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/the_generational_younger_than_jesus/
The members of a collective from Berlin, called AIDS-3D (even the name seems drenched in apathy) set a pair of eternal flames to either side of a shiny black obelisk topped with the glowing letters OMG. IMHO, it’s hard not to think that those letters have replaced more potent sacred acronyms: INRI, maybe, at the top of a crucifix, or JHVH on a Torah scroll.
Blake Gopnik
- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/museums/050809.html
das Berliner Künstlerduo Aids-3D einen Altar der Handy-Generation. Die Abkürzung “OMG” steht in der SMS-Sprache für “Oh, mein Gott!”.-
- Zeit Online
http://www.zeit.de/online/2009/18/bg-younger-jesus?3
Then you also see people who are more critical, like the collaborative AIDS-3D who have a piece in the show called OMG Obelisk, which parodies the innovation-worship that they see in society. The work consists of a mock shrine that has OMG (short for Oh My God) hatched out of text message communication in place of where a god should be.- Lauren Cornell, White Laura Meli
- Wall Magazine
http://www.whitewallmag.com/2009/05/06/lauren-cornell-adjunct-curator-at-the-new-museum-speaks-with-wws-sascha-crasnow/
OMG Obelisk by the collective AIDS-3D looks like something from a modern day “Lord of the Flies.” A black totemic structure with the letters ‘OMG’ is flanked by blazing, spear-like poles; the piece is both tongue-in-cheek and a possible warning of impending doom. Kitty Kraus’s mirrored sculptures sit not far from OMG, glowing on the floor as if leaking radiation. Whereas in another setting they might be deemed subtle or delicate, with light from the seams bouncing off the mirrors, juxtaposed with OMG that fragile nature morphs into something more cryptic.
- NY ART BEAT
http://www.nyartbeat.com/nyablog/2009/04/omg-its-ytj-a-triennial-for-the-millenials/
Not far from Trecartin’s weird world is my favorite piece of the exhibition, OMG Obelisk by AIDS-3D, a collective consisting of Daniel Keller, (b.1986, USA) and Nick Kosmas (b.1985, USA). A simple black totem-like structure with a vertical “OMG” in neon blue lights at the top, the piece is both humorous and foreboding. The thin black torches emanating real fire that surround the totem pole give it a primitive feel; a modernized version of an ancient cave scene. According to curatorial materials, the work of AIDS-3D is a flippant engagement “with the unmet promises of 20th century: religious enlightenment, sexual liberation, technological utopianism and artistic freedom.” OMG Obelisk seems to reject the idea of technological utopianism through the humor that’s created from taking such a trite, tech-generated phrase and placing it in an all-important, religious context. They are also saying something about God or the changing human attitude about God here: In ancient times, humans built monuments and obelisks to pay homage to God. Today we drop “OMG” without thinking twice.
Sarah McClutchy
-Splice Today
http://splicetoday.com/pop-culture/up-and-comers
The idealism of youth is undermined in two strong works that address the failures of utopian ideals. Berlin–based collective AIDS-3D’s OMG Obelisk (2007) is a satirical monument to a contemporary representation of “god”: the sms acronym “OMG.” It’s a faux-apocalyptic scenario with a knowing goth-pop sensibility; it may very well become the defining image of the exhibition.
Dmitry Komis
- White Hot Magazine
http://whitehotmagazine.com/articles/younger-than-jesus-new-museum/1830
In OMG Obelisk (2007), AIDS-3D comments on how technology in today’s society has reached a nearly religious status. The installation resembles a monument, thereby suggestive of the worship of technology.
Gabriëlle Lucille
-Art Observer
http://artobserved.com/go-see-the-generational-younger-than-jesus-at-the-new-museum-through-july-5th-2009/
...walking through Younger than Jesus, a clear sense of a shared identity does develop, epitomized by AIDS 3-D’s OMG Obelisk. The black minimalist and monolithic totem, flanked by torches, is alit with the ever-present text-messaging acronym: OMG. Oh my God. There is no doubt that technology is the origin story, tribal counsel and god-force for the generation that never knew a world without the personal computer.
Cynthia Daignault
-Last Exit Magazine
http://lastexitmag.com/article/meet-the-new-boss
By various authors