Point of Sale
Christian Jankowski German
Not on view
Point of Sale, a three screen video projection, features three protagonists: Michele Maccarone, the artist's dealer at the time, George Kunstlinger, the owner of an electronics store in the same building as Maccarone's gallery, and consultant, art historian, and collector Clayton Press. Each of the protagonists plays a predetermined role in the video, one that approximates the roles they play in real life. Press, a management consultant, performs a version of himself, serving as the video's interlocuter. He makes statements and poses questions to which Kunstlinger and Maccarone respond, but with a twist: Kunstlinger answers using Maccarone's words, while Maccarone answers using Kunstlinger's words. The effect is to level the distinction between the market, writ large, and the art market, simultaneoulsy deflating the pretensions of the art world and lending credence and authority to the job of an electronics parts purveyor. The video, like all of Jankowski's, is created in collaboration with his subjects, who also serve as his actors. Point of Sale premiered during the 2002 Armory Show, one of the largest art fairs in the world, where the commodification of art reaches epic proportions.
