Mariko Mori

THAT BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL BLOB

Mariko Mori's press people just released her digital-only earth project to a breathless art world and, like everything she has ever done before, it is a paragon of mindless beauty.

The centerpiece is, once again, a glowing blob-shaped pod which functions like the space bounding bubble which used to capture Patrick McGoohan on the old "Prisoner" TV series, whenever he, playing Number 6, tried to escape. So too, Mori offers the illusion of escape, capture and return in a world of no meaning on your iPhone or laptop.

The blob alights, travels the globe, zeroes in on a bay near China, plops down into a cove with clear blue water, nestling amidst some tropical trees. Then it turns orange and just sits there. At least it was just sitting there when I bailed out of part three of the vid, impatient to pen this review.

Now, Mariko (no techie, she has a crew to do it for her, just like me!) loves to pitch mindless bliss as much as any religious cult or time-share shiller in the Caribbean, and, over the years, she has gotten pretty good at it. But, you know, that's all there is: there's no intellectual content, sexual titillation or even a cold shower.

I had more sensual thrill last night drowning a rat and tossing its corpse into the garbage. Perhaps she could turn herself into a more blissful Abramovic, of the Carnival Cruise variety. Mori Cruises: your own pod cheap, with all purpose geisha and sun and surf as your destination. She certainly has the funds to do it!

“Mariko Mori: Journey to Seven Light Bay,” launched Dec. 6, 2011, on the AdobeMuseum website.

CHARLIE FINCH is co-author of Most Art Sucks: Five Years of Coagula (Smart Art Press).