Including works by: Stephen Anderson, Sonya Blesofsky, Nancy Mizuno Elliot, Lora Finelli, Yael Friedman, Dan Grayber, Hannah Hammond-Hagman, Monica Johnson, David Kasdorf, Ellen Lake, Kristina Noelle Lewis, Julia Petho, Job Piston, Shawn Smith, Jill Sylvia, and Michael Trigilio

Juried by: Clark Buckner, Mayumi Hamanaka, Taro Hattori, Kimberlee Koym, and Jennifer Rosenberg

Philosopher Sampler, Shawn Smith, wood and metal

Modern society harnesses human energies ever more exhaustively for instrumental ends. Every impulse, it seems, must be put to use – though the ultimate purpose of all this work too often seems absurd. At the same time, we find ourselves inundated with commodities. Our hyper-productive society relishes in consumption; but this endless orgy too often leaves us altogether unsatisfied. What is and isn’t necessary? What are the politics of work and play? Is free-time good for nothing more than “vacation?” If art is defined by purposelessness, is it merely frivolous? What do we need? Mission 17 invited artists to submit work that explores the dialectics of necessity. Orienting topics included:

excess and deprivation
irrationality and instrumentalization
work and play
freedom and determinism
discipline and rebellion
fetishism
consumerism
decadence, among others.

Freeway, Sonya Blesofsky, installation view

Kristina Lewis, Pods. Combined plastic sandwich bags. Dimensions variable.