BigMinis Fetishes of Crisis

A compact catalog - mini, in fact - is the perfect accompaniment for the cheekyexhibition BigMinis at Bordeaux's Museum of Contemporary Art. Bringing togetherworks by more than 40 artists, the show considers important questions forour time, especially the nature of the scaled-down object in a time of recession.The compact object is nowadays regarded as simultaneously cute (meaningminority and superfluous) and disquieting (subversive and hard to see). Is themini a herald of the current economic crisis, or a reflection of it? Is it actuallya smart adaptation to the times? Riveting texts in English and French by anall-star roster of critics enhance an equally stellar list of featured artists, includingeveryone from Pablo Picasso, Carl Andre and Yoko Ono to Jason Meadows,Cathy Opie and Laurie Simmons.