The work was creation in response to the 2020 Ugly Biennale, titled "In Even the Oldest Utopia There Is A Song Too Short To Sing. 

 

What is more utopian than the Modernist paradigm? --- (For a foundational example, see Hegel’s thesis, antithesis, synthesis that underscored progressive human evolution towards a more perfect society) Following are some thoughts on the work's included jigsaw puzzles:

 

An abbreviated description of Springbok and “Convergence,”(in its jigsaw form) :

Founding Springbok Editions in 1964, Katie and Bob Lewin inspired a new era of jigsaw puzzles. First by releasing circular and octagonal puzzles for adults, then secondly, in “its focus on fine art,” the novelty product bringing works of modern artists onto the dining and coffee tables of the nation. “Springbok created a sensation with its puzzle of ‘Convergence,’ an abstract painting by Jackson Pollock. Full of random squiggles and blobs of paint drippings, it was billed as ‘the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle.’ It captured the public’s imagination and sold more than one hundred thousand copies in the first year…Officials at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo were amazed by the steady stream of museum visitors who came to scrutinize the original of the infamous Pollock painting, after struggling with the puzzle for so many hours. Katie Lewin commented:

         ‘You understand Jackson Pollock better after you have made the puzzle.’

 

In addition to the puzzle translation of

“Convergence,” “the company was the first to commission famous artists to paint special designs for adult puzzles…Salvador Dali was Springbok’s biggest ‘catch.’ Katie Lewin met him (and his pet ocelot) in the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel when he was visiting New York. Her pitch for the custom art, plus the impressive display of Springbok puzzles at the nearby Brentano’s bookstore, appealed to Dali’s commercial side.”(Williams, 102-104)

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Williams, A. D. (2005). The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Together a History. New York: Berkley Books.

 

Abbreviated and (far) more edited and narrative-driven description of Eva Cockcroft’s Abstract Expressionism, Weapon of the Cold War

Abstraction isn’t neutral. With its inherent ambiguity, it can be a political tool. “To understand why a particular art movement becomes successful under a given set of historical circumstances requires an examination of the specifics of patronage and the ideological needs of the powerful” (125).

 

The rise and proliferation of Abstract Expressionism in the 1960s wasn’t pure divine fate and/or cultural progression. It pointed to the U.S.’s use of privatization to funnel funds. Without the democratic systems and bureaucracy of Congress needing to approve and monitor funding, the CIA worked collaboratively, if not in pure synchronization, with the MOMA. The power could be covertly allocated to such private institutions, where in the US, unlike European counterparts, “American museums came to fulfill the role of official patronage – but without accountability to anyone but themselves” (125).

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This coordination was not only fiscal, but also structural. Congressman Max Kozloff pointed out the similarity between ‘American cold war rhetoric’ and the way many Abstract Expressionist artists phrased their existentialist-individualist credos” (126).  Their utilized mythologies coincided, and it put the individual at the center of the universe. At the same time, former and interim CIA members were frequently employed at the highest positions within the MOMA complex. The two became so entwined, capitalism and government worked in multi-dimensional coordination, blurring the lines between the once distinct spheres.

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Note: Cockcroft wrote the cited work in 1974. 

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Eva Cockcroft: ‘Abstract Expressionism, Weapon of the Cold War’, in Francis Frascina ed., Pollock an After. The Critical Debate (Harper & Row 1985)

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https://www.scribd.com/document/37676685/Cockcroft-Eva-Abstract-Expressionism-Weapon-of-the-Cold-War