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cherrydodd
4 days ago

Christmas In July: Festivities and Consumerist Culture

When we think of Christmas there are certain things that come to mind. The sparkling of lights, the smells of pine and cinnamon, the glint of gold chocolate coins and the crisp cold air of winter. As someone in the northern hemisphere, who experiences Christmas in the coldest month, the last thing that comes to mind is July.


Whilst sometimes used to refer to a secondary Christmas celebration in the southern hemisphere's coldest month, the phrase Christmas in July was popularised by the Hollywood 1940 comedy of the same name, becoming a symbol of Christmas' heightened capital gain and consumption. In the film our protagonist is tricked into believing he won a whopping $25,000 which causes him to go on a reckless shopping spree. This reflects in our consumer experience of Christmas as each year Christmas decorations appear in stores earlier and earlier to the point that even in our northern hemisphere we see Christmas in stores in July.


This phenomenon has of course also infiltrated the art market just as much as the mainstream consumerist market. In July 2010 Yvon Lambert Gallery, New York collated this phenomenon into a month-long exhibition entitled Christmas in July. During this exhibition featuring artists reflected on Anthropologist, Claude Lévi-Strauss' observations that 'During both Christmas and the Saturnalia, society functions according to a double rhythm of heightened solidarity and exaggerated antagonism and these two aspects act together in balanced opposition.' The exhibition took focus on this heightened solidarity and traditions of 'revelry, gift exchange, and gatherings of friends.' Curated by Simon Castets each of the diverse artists featured interpreted our contemporary Christmas through this lens of solidarity and antagonism to create an exhibition that shows the less warm and fuzzy side of Christmas.


Installation photos of Christmas in July, 2010, Yvon Lambert, New york. Images courtesy of Yvon Lambert, New York. Photos by Kathryn Hillier.


John Baldessari's 1991 work Christmas (with Double Boy on Crutches) was a notable feature of this exhibition. One of the most acclaimed conceptual artist Baldessari is known for his use of found photography which he edits, obscures, and alters to create new narratives surrounding consumerism. Raised by European parents, a Catholic father and Lutheran mother Baldessari would have been no stranger to the religious and cultural importance of Christmas. This conflict then between a religious and a consumerist understanding of Christmas is what we see played out in this exhibition. Classical images of snow-covered buildings, Christmas trees, Father Christmas and fireplaces are contrasted by the bright stickers Baldessari used to obscure the faces. This contrast between classical festive imagery and consumerist symbols alludes to contrasts between the festive seasons’ core values. Yes, it is a time for family, friends and sharing between one and all but that does unfortunately usually mean you are expected to make a trip to the shops and battle the crowds.


Christmas (with Double Boy on Crutches), John Baldessari, 1991, framed photo-collage. Images courtesy of Yvon Lambert, New York. Photos by Kathryn Hillier.


Speaking of Christmas shopping one of the most intriguing areas of this exhibit is Jonathan Horowitz' Free Store. This interactive installation, made by yet another consumerism critical artist, invited visitors equally to bring items with them and take items away. The shops original line up featured clothing, old clocks, vinyl, an old keyboard and mouse, an old mac, books and most excitingly Fox Mulder's famous I Want to Believe X-Files poster. (Spooky? Do you think I'm spooky?) Boldly secluded from the exhibit by a bright red outline the store element of Christmas in July highlights, as stated within the press release, the tensions between 'makeshift gift economy and permanent market economy.' These objects have no permanence within the gallery space as they can just as easily be removed as they were placed there. If you want to be pedantic you could say this is true of any artwork in a gallery space, but I have a feeling the security chasing after you may disagree.


However, the difference between these transferrable objects and other more traditional art objects within the space is that the artist has not assigned value to them. Is the shirt hanging on the wall any more valuable than the discarded hula hoop, garter, and monster energy can less than a meter from it? No, but have you been told you can take the hula hoop, garter, or monster out of the space? also no, so you do not. So, the artists are saying 'this shirt has no market economy, it is not an object of this space, it has no use here and so it can be removed. However, this garter which exists outside the red confines of the free store, this belongs here, this has market value you may not remove it from its artistic context'. This is an example of the exact tensions between gift and market economy mentioned prior.

Free Stuff, Jonathon Horowitz, 2010. Images courtesy of Yvon Lambert, New York. Photos by Kathryn Hillier.


This New York staging has not been the only iteration of Christmas in July. From November 2017 to January 2018 this exhibition took on a second life at Frutta, Rome. This staging titled HO HO HO, Christmas in July was undertaken by curators Alek O., Gabriele De Santis, Santo Tolone and Spring. This exhibition was a great deal more chaotic than its first iteration and if anything, it only amplifies the overconsumption of the festive period more. Trees litter the gallery space, and the floor is unseen among the crunch of dead leaves. logs, branches, and swampy puddles also litter the gallery floor. In a seasonal time when 'public attention is most closely focused on the quality of items available for purchase'. This concealment of items amongst a dense natural environment poses questions around the product's origin, materials, and manufacture. An often-overlooked sector in this period of heightened consumption.


Installation photos of HO HO HO: Christmas in July at Frutta, Rome. Photo by Roberto Apa

Sasso 1, sasso 2, sasso 3, sasso 4, sasso 5, Enrico Benassi, 1982-1984. Photo by Roberto Apa

What both these exhibitions highlight is how in our contemporary consumerist culture gift-giving as a core tradition of this time of family and community questions our understanding of value. How do you know you are loved if you do not receive? How do you know you are valued when you only received and orange in your stocking and your sibling received their dream toy? These notions, as un-festive as they are, remind us to look elsewhere for love and appreciation this season. It is not the gift that is core to our festive joy, it is togetherness.


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