MARTIN CREED: WORK NO. 790: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT
The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit presents the reinstallation of Martin Creed’s exterior neon artwork Work No. 790: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT. Originally part of MOCAD’s Words Fail Me exhibition curated by Matthew Higgs in 2007, the piece brought a bright light to what was then a dark corner of Woodward Avenue. The piece was a beloved representation of Detroit’s promising future and a call to passerbys to be positive despite the negative perceptions of Detroit in 2007. With the changes taking place in Detroit and with the Museum’s 10th anniversary, MOCAD sees this as the perfect time to invite Creed to show the piece again.
PAST EXHIBITIONS
MARTIN CREED:
WORK NO. 790: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT
SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 – ONGOING
The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit presents the reinstallation of Martin Creed’s exterior neon artwork Work No. 790: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT. Originally part of MOCAD’s Words Fail Me exhibition curated by Matthew Higgs in 2007, the piece brought a bright light to what was then a dark corner of Woodward Avenue. The piece was a beloved representation of Detroit’s promising future and a call to passerbys to be positive despite the negative perceptions of Detroit in 2007. With the changes taking place in Detroit and with the Museum’s 10th anniversary, MOCAD sees this as the perfect time to invite Creed to show the piece again.
Work No. 790: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT is a large word-based sculpture made in white neon consisting of a single line of unpunctuated text that reads ‘EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT’. It has been shown in various locations around the world including the Tate Modern in London and the National Galleries of Scotland. Martin Creed is one of the most influential and exciting British artists today, who uses sculpture, neon, painting, video and performance. Awarded the Turner Prize in 2001.
Martin Creed, born in 1968, is an artist living and working the UK. Creed, whose work is characterized by his playful and subversive wit, won the Turner Prize in 2001. He is renowned for his straightforward approach to making art and his clever economy of means, both in his use of non-traditional art materials and in the numerical titling of his work. Assigning a number to every artwork made relieves him of the tendency to make judgements based on size or materials, thereby giving all his works equal status. Creed has commented that his artworks are an attempt to start a dialogue with people.
Martin Creed’s facade project, Work No. 790: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT (2007), is sponsored by generous support from the Alfred A. Taubman Foundation, Gavin Brown’s enterprise, Spectrum Neon, and the Applebaum Family Compass Fund.
