Another Day Another Warehouse

Apr 9, 2010

For the past two days, I've been buried in a corner of the largest warehouse I've ever seen, organizing the Stephen Sprouse archives for the umpteenth time.

It's big news in the art world, but in case you haven't heard, Jeffery Deitch, (owner of Deitch Projects where the Stephen Sprouse retrospective exhibit was held in January of last year) has been named director of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. On condition of this new job, he must cease all commercial operations by June 1st of this year (see this article in The Los Angeles Times) which means that the Sprouse archives -- under the custodianship of Deitch Projects since before the exhibition -- must now, like all the other art flying under the Deitch umbrella, find a new home. Without going into the details, it means that I'm once again diving neck-deep into decades worth of paintings, sketches, clothing, accessories, photographs, press clippings, assorted ephemera and, above all, memories.

Stephen's pile of things is a lot of stuff to go through, and I always feel a little overwhelmed whenever I do, but at least it's interesting stuff. Unlike the colossal towers of paper that surround it -- various documents put into storage by the Great State of New Jersey. At least I'm not being asked to deal with any of this: