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 sparkle like fireworks.

The lightbulbs, the music, and the two photos work to create the impression of meaning. You can connect two or three things, but never do all four coalesce into a larger meaning. In many ways, Salle's work is about leading your mind down paths that stop at dead ends.

I kept creating narratives in my head that only broke when I got to a last element. For instance, the lights on the floor reminded me of the tall ready/set/go lights they have at Formula One races. The music, which is mournful, could indicate a tragic end for the race car driver. But what does the circle of black children mean?

The pastiche of unrelated images in Salle's work is frequently compared to Robert Rauschenberg's cluttered canvases. The most apt comparison is to Rauschenberg's "Erased de Kooning Drawing," which is exactly what the title says. Rauchenberg asked Willem de Kooning for a drawing to see what happens when you erase the marks of an artist. Is it still art? Does it matter that an artist is doing the erasing?

Salle's work is based on erasing meaning but leaving behind the symbols of it.

See the installation here. A photo of the original 1977 installation is available here.