David Salle's "Bearding the Lion in His Den"

In his evocatively meaningless art installation from 1977, David Salle manages to mathematically determine just how many elements an art work should have to seem important. The answer is four. A recreation of "Bearding the Lion in His Den" currently fills the back room at Deitch Projects (until March 24). Although it was made before Salle painted the towering collage work that made his name, "Bearding" is a 3-D form of the basic David Salle idea. That idea is to come as close as possible to making a work that means something without crossing the line. In the middle of the dark room is a wooden plank with ten lightbulbs. A large black and white photo is on either side of the room, each illuminated by a dim grey lightbulb that's suspended from the ceiling. On the left, the photo is of a speeding Formula One racing car. On the right is a photo of a group of black children holding hands in a circle. A song is playing (Tim Buckley's "Song for the Siren"). While the song plays, the light bulbs are dark. When it ends, the gallery becomes quiet and the ten lightbulbs on the floor flash and...