Another day, Another review

I decided not to blog about every little article I write because many of them don't translate into a bloggable format, and also because I usually want to stop writing about something the minute I'm done, um... writing about it. I will, however, tell you about a show I went to review, today. It was called "Take Shape" (I say "was" because today was its last day, at Rena Bransten) and it featured "works by young sculptors." Since they were all from the Bay Area, I was already pretty familiar with their work. Still, I wasn't expecting to leave feeling as I did.... In fact, I usually like to run home and type-up my reviews, but I'm really tossing and turning over this one. I'm not a negative person, generally, and I like to focus my reviews on the positive (ie fruitful, insightful, challenging, "successfull") elements, if any, of an artist's work. Even though I've previously been a fan of some of these artists, I felt like the show was a major indulgence in commodity fetishism. Though I know, personally, that some of the artists included are critical of capitalism, this show was seriously lacking in criticality. Usually I decline to review such shows, but I've made a commitment, here. What's interesting is that I'm forcing myself to confront my own feelings about commodity fetishism, in relationship to the art that I make and/or "consume," in various ways...