Series: One Thing After Another

Artists' use of series encompasses an extraordinary range of approaches. One might find repetition, subtle shifts in sequence, or the deployment of quantity and variety that almost overwhelms the senses. Seriality is present in masterpieces like Giotto's Arena Chapel, whose sequences tell stories from the lives of Mary and Christ in chronological panels, and the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicted the Norman conquest as a continuous narrative embroidery. With Impressionism, one can see it in Claude Monet's systematic studies of haystacks and cathedrals under changing light. Photography and video further revolutionized the creation and dissemination of serial production. However, it was only during the postwar embrace of industrial culture that artists began exploring repetition as both subject and method. Widespread consumption, and the production that facilitated it, meant that the factory—its methods, culture, and creations—transformed daily life. Artists adopted mechanical reproduction and standardized forms to reflect—and critique—this new reality. Site:Brooklyn invites submissions across all mediums that explore contemporary seriality.