David Lloyd: Altered Artforum
Founded in 1962 and published ten times per year since, Artforum is considered by many to be the publication with the definitive mark of legitimacy in the art world. As Lloyd says, “Every artist wants to be on the cover of Artforum, and if they tell you they don’t, they’re full of shit. It’s a grand gesture in the art world to say that you’ve made it.” Given that recognition however, the works are more humorous and celebratory than cynical. Lloyd creates an invitation to collaborate with artists who have achieved the career hallmark of an Artforum cover, and coopts Artforum's logo—with its status as a symbol of institutional authority and approval—for his own work. The original covers are collaged upon with images ranging from the art historical to the popular, painted and drawn upon, and scraped, with text crossed out and redrawn. In one instance, a cover featuring a painting from On Kawara’s “Today” series has been scratched out, with the date replaced by Lloyd’s birthday. Lloyd’s vibrant colors and energetic compositional choices transform the magazine cover space as an arbiter of importance and fashion into a place for artistic agency and collaborative play.