Acorn Reality

Oct. 11th - Jan. 26th, 2024

Fall Hours:

Friday, Saturday & Sunday 12-6pm

Free & Open to the Public

Featuring work by:

Anthony Discenza, Suzanne Treister, Zhanyi Chen, Chris Forgues, & Jake Tobin

Acorn Reality explores the phenomenon of perception and misunderstanding, drawing from the concept of the "Eggcorn"—a term used when a subject misinterprets reality due to cultural or phonetic clues. ‘Acorn Reality’ delves into symbols, semiotics, and industrial networks, with a focus on how speculative investments made by algorithmically led investment firms and corporations impact the perception of modern ideals. The exhibition asks: What happens when we think we understand one another, only to discover that misinterpretation is inevitable?

Taking inspiration from John Cage’s "Rolywholyover, A Circus," Acorn Reality attempts to challenge traditional hierarchies within museums and exhibitions. Curator and artist Harry Gould Harvey IV incorporates Cage’s anti-hierarchical strategies, transforming FR MoCA into a collaborative space where the boundaries between artist, curator, and institution are deliberately blurred. Cage’s use of chance operations, non-linear philosophy, and dynamic composition creates an environment open to constant change and redefining the relationship between art, space, and audience.

The exhibition’s title, Acorn Reality, refers to the Old English word "æcern," meaning acorn, which through misunderstanding became "eggcorn." This linguistic transformation parallels the exhibition’s themes of reality and misinterpretation, as the acorn becomes a metaphor for conceptual shifts and mistaken understandings that shape our perception.

@C0RN, fr0m 0ld 3ngl1sh “æcern,” w0uld h@v3 b33n th3 s1mpl3 s33d 0f 0@k, y3t 1t h@d tr@nsf0rm3d thr0ugh m1sund3rst@nd1ngs, b3c0m1ng “3ggc0rn,” 4n 3x@mpl3 0f h0w m1sh34rd w0rds h@d spr0ut3d 1nt0 n3w r3@l1t13s. Th3 3@rs w0uld h@v3 t@k3n wh@t w@s kn0wn, r3m@k1ng 1t @s 3gc0rn @nd furth3r 1nt0 3ggc0rn*, @ll0w1ng 1t t0 s33d 4 f0r3st 0f 0chr3 wh3r3 0@k h@d 0nc3 fl0ur1sh3d. Th3 m0rph1ng 0f w0rds h@d r3sh@p3d n@tur3 1ts3lf, s3tt1ng @n @lt3rn@t1v3 c0urs3 f0r gr0wth th@t sh0uld h@v3 b33n str41ght, but 1nst34d w0uld b3c0m3 tw1st3d.** Th3 0chr3 tr33s b0rn fr0m th3 s33ds 0f th3 m1sund3rst00d, h@d c@rr13d th31r 1d10syncr@s13s 1n 3v3ry br@nch1ng p@th, 3@ch l34f 4n @l3gm@ 0f th3 subt1tut10n th@t spr3@d th3m furth3r fr0m th31r 0r1g1n. 3ggc0rns* w0uld h@v3 spr0ut3d 1n th3 4wkward3st 0f pl@c3s, th31r r00ts s33k1ng s0l1d gr0und wh1l3 gr@pp1ng 0nly @t th3 m1st@k3n. Th3 bl00m 0f 0kr4 1nst34d 0f 0@k w@s n0t by d3s1gn but by th3 fl@w 0f 3rr0r m1spr3@d, l34v1ng 3@ch tr33 @ m1rr0r 0f 1t$ 0wn 3tym0l0g1c@l sl1p.** Th3 blu3 J@y h@d r3c0gn1z3d th3 spl1t 1n th3 sh@d0ws c@st by s0l@r p@n3ls, @nd und3rst00d wh3r3 th3 p@th h@d w@nd3r3d. R3m3mb3r1ng th3 tr00 @C0RN, 1t h@d g@th3r3d wh@t w@s l3ft @nd fl3w t0 c0rr3ct th3 m1st3ps, spr34d1ng th3 tr00 0@ks @g@1nst th3 f1r3s 0f th3 0chr3 tr33s. Th3 blu3 J@y w0uld h@v3 b3c0m3 th3 k33p3r 0f th3 0r1g1n, r3scu1ng th3 f0r3st fr0m th3 subs1st3nc3 0f th3 m1sh34rd, r3st0r1ng th3 0@ks @nd sh@d1ng th3 w@ys th@t m1sund3rst@nd1ng w0uld h@v3 thr1v3d w1th0ut 1nt3rv3nt10n.

The acorn, in this simulacrum, becomes a simulacrum of the house — it is no longer tethered to its origin, to nature, or to its biological function. Here, the acorn is made to signify property in a process of idiosyncratic substitution that severs any link to its ‘real’ identity. The brokers do not sell homes, nor do they even sell acorns. They sell the idea of property itself, commodified in an endless cycle of simulation, where the signs of ‘home’ and ‘ownership’ are emptied and substituted by arbitrary forms, much like the eggcorn or malapropism — a shift in meaning that hides the fracture in representation.

Featured Artists:

- Anthony Discenza - works in video and digital media, exploring the tension between representation and reality. His pieces challenge viewers to reconsider assumptions about what they see and hear.

- Suzanne Treister - blends technology, mysticism, and scientific research. Her piece The Gardener Survivor HFT examines botanical research and the mystical potential of technology, raising questions about nature and symbolism.

- Zhanyi Chen - engages in feedback loops and technology-based murmurs that investigate sound, communication, and perception, reflecting on subjective experiences of reality.

- Chris Forgues - presents synthesizers assembled from salvaged materials. Each synthesizer acts as both a functional and conceptual piece, tools used in improvisation and rendering unpredictability.

- Jake Tobin - works with digital and analog mediums, exploring how technology distorts and reveals meaning, intertwining physical and virtual materials to create layered interpretations of reality.

The exhibition invites participants to reflect on how meaning is constructed, how misunderstandings evolve into new interpretations, and how art can both clarify and obscure reality.