Josh Kline | Project for a New American Century
Josh Kline, Desperation Dilation, 2016.
Cast silicone, shopping cart, polyethylene bags, rubber, plexiglass, LEDs, and powercord, 46 x 29 x 40 in. (116.8 x 73.7 x 101.6cm).
Collection of Bobby and Eleanor Cayre. © Josh Kline. Photograph by Joerg Lohse; image courtesy the artist and 47 Canal, New York
Written by Emily Ranieri
Copy Edited by Keenan Haggen
Photo Edited by Olivia Castillo
Viewing the future as a simultaneous dystopian wasteland and opportunity for change, Josh Kline has spent the last 15 years creating multimedia art reflecting the consequences of technological innovation on humanity. Merging multiple mediums such as sculpture, film, photography, and physical installations, Kline creates a world of science fiction within his art, apprised by historical evidence and current events. Kline is widely considered one of the leading artists of his generation, and his ability to create immersive experiences with emotional and social layers creates much-needed discourse on how these issues directly impact the labor force and daily life.
Until August 13, the Whitney Museum of American Art presents a breathtaking survey of Kline’s work titled Josh Kline: Project for a New American Century. Spanning two floors of museum space and organized across ten rooms, the survey features over one hundred pieces of Kline’s works from the last decade. His past installations, such as Contagious Unemployment, Blue Collars, and Adaptation, continue to inform his recent work as he investigates how climate change, technological automation, disease transmission, and the downfall of American democracy directly impact the working class.
Josh Kline, Installation View
Project for a New American Century is organized into multiple chapters or environments that are now a part of his immersive ongoing art cycle. Despite each chapter demonstrating its themes, Kline presents a tangible cohesion and a common thread of the feared potential future. Kline offers a brilliant perspective of the consequences humanity could face due to its emphasis on technology and the dismissal of climate-related issues. His latest debuted work addresses the climate crisis's possible impact through a beautiful multimedia installation – tent-like structures that resemble emergency climate-controlled housing and vehicles include fictional video interviews to connect the disastrous climate effects to human beings, anthropomorphizing the current climate crisis while presenting hope through a warning.
Josh Kline, Energy Drip, 2013.
IV bag, RedBull, yerba maté, Emergen-C, sugar, spirulina, Provigil, gasoline, and light-box column: plexiglass, LEDs, and wood, 210 x 5 3/4 x 8 in. (533.4 x 14.6 x 20.3 cm).
Collection of Christen and Derek Wilson.
©Josh Kline. Photograph by Joerg Lohse; image courtesy the artist and 47 Canal, New York
Josh Kline, Share the Health (Assorted Probiotic Hand Gels), 2011.
Plastic dispensers with assorted cultures in nutrient gel, 6 1/4 x 4 1/2 x 4 in. (15.88 x 11.43 x 10.16 cm) each.
Courtesy 47 Canal, New York.
© Josh Kline. Photograph by Bobby Rogers; image courtesy the artist and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Kline’s piece Overtime features an orange IV bag with labeled contents such as espresso, Adderall, printer ink, and toothpaste – all substances which sustain a member of the labor force. Through this piece, his commentary on the declining health of the labor force due to unsustainable productivity levels becomes tangible. The tangibility of Kline’s three-dimensional art emphasizes the dire reality of the future he warns visitors about. A piece featuring a hand sanitizer dispenser filled with beige cultures demonstrates similar themes to his 2016 cycle, Contagious Unemployment. However, after the pandemic, his work takes on a different meaning. Further, it connects to themes of social inequity – that depending on an individual’s employment status and income, healthcare may not be accessible, making potential illness a barrier to work.
Josh Kline’s contemporary genius shines in Project for a New American Century; his ability to merge various mediums allows for a completely immersive experience that also provides a salient warning. The entirety of Kline’s survey can be viewed on the fifth and eighth floors of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
