on emergent

on this week's studio 360 kurt anderson explored tino sehgal's provocative new exhibition at the guggenheim in new york.

as visitors enter the exhibition at the bottom of the frank lloyd wright rotunda a young child asks them a simple question, "what is progress?" the viewers either enter the conversation or they don't and they continue up the ramp. further up the ramp the viewers have the opportunity to dialog about the topic with a teenager, an adult and a senior citizen.

as anderson described the exhibition, i couldn't help but think that sehgal's work reminds me of the emergent conversation at its best. although we often meet in spaces far less inspiring than the guggenheim - uno's in porter square anyone? - we too walk together, explore the significant questions of existence with people who were once strangers and, yes, sometimes find ourselves walking in circles.

over the last couple of days i've told anyone who's interested that i think - to rip-off a current book title - emergent is an orientation. after listening to studio 360 i'm starting to think that emergent can be an exhibition as well.