Specializing in contemporary dance and political economy, Tino Sehgal tackles political issues inherent within contemporary art using an entirely new methodology rather than the extant thematic approaches. Sehgal’s works use fundamental methods of expression, such as movement, speech, acting, and singing, to facilitate particular situations which function not through modification of materials but transformation of action. Sehgal’s work proposes a dynamic take on the idea of the “expanded concept of art,” arguing for a process of production that revolves around exchanges and transformations of thoughts.
This is New is a series of situational plays in which an impromptu conversation takes place between the ticket-taker and individuals at the exhibition’s entrance. This work begins the moment the ticket-taker references an unpredictable quote—likely a today’s newspaper headline—to visitors entering the art gallery. This piece turns society’s fixation with news via one’s preferred source of information/stimulation (literally “what is new”) back on itself, prompting an unconditioned response to the unexpected (the “new”) when it enters into one’s life without invitation. By encountering these unforeseen situations, exhibition visitors will come to reflect on the very definition of an art gallery, the meaning of an admission ticket, the role of the tickettaker, and their own identities.
