Value Propositions

For Value Propositions, the curator Ella den Elzen has selected a series of films and videos that examine the meaning and mutations of value in finance, culture, and beyond. The works in Value Propositions address the malleability of value as a term and an indicator of worth in relation to commodities and abstractions, from the art market to the void.

The screening will begin with Moyra Davey’s Hell Notes (1990/2017), which the artist describes as a “Freudian interpretation of money (money = shit)” that morphs into “a love letter to New York City.” While Hell Notes takes on money and currency, Dora Budor and Noah Barker’s Chase Manhattan (2021–2022) documents the demolition of a modernist skyscraper to make way for the construction of JPMorganChase’s new headquarters, following a dump truck that carries the building’s metal armature and steel beams. Nandi Loaf’s thê ABSOLUTE RECKONING : plot device - minimal derivative symbol impulse* (2024), an homage to John Cage’s 4' 33", considers the forms of value produced through art. Vera Lutz’s The Happiness Experiment (2025) shifts between light and darkness to reveal and conceal piles of commodities and everyday objects, toying with the perception of value.

In Hannah Black’s Broken Windows (2022), three young women recall participating in the 2020 protests against police violence in New York, and discuss the momentary interruption of capitalist systems of control through rioting and looting. ITSOFOMO (In the Shadow of Forward Motion) (1989), an adaptation of a performance by David Wojnarowicz and Ben Neill, combines text, voiceover, and imagery to create a sense of acceleration that echoes the urgency of the AIDS crisis—and of a movement built on contesting the state’s devaluation of those most vulnerable to the disease. Value Propositions will conclude with Tony Cokes’s Ad Vice (1999), a music video that presents advertising slogans as platitudes, philosophical musings, and propaganda—or all of the above—with a soundtrack by the band SWIPE.

Copresented with Electronic Arts Intermix, this roving, raucous series of films and videos will be followed by a reception with drinks available for purchase.

RSVPs do not guarantee entry. Attendance is on a first-come, first-served basis (even for those who have RSVP’d) and will be limited to the legal capacity of the venue.

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