Other artists in “Anticipation” include Irish video artists Nicky Keogh and Paddy Bloomer, who go by Tatterdandelion; Swiss video artist Karen Müller; American photographer Troy Williams and London-based photographer David Bate.

“Rather than concerning themselves with the communication of narrative, these artists are more interested in our psychological responses to their work and the experience of the space in which it is presented,” curator Karen Irvine writes in the exhibition program.We spoke with Irvine about “Anticipation.”
Time Out Chicago: What was the impetus for this show? Is there a piece that got you thinking about this concept?
Karen Irvine: I started thinking about grappling with the idea of anticipation after seeing the Fischli and Weiss The Way Things Go video at MASS MoCA a few years ago. I was fascinated by the way that inanimate objects can elicit such a strong sense of narrative and suspense for a viewer, completely without a human, emotional component, and how they become almost like characters in a play and seem to animate themselves.
TOC: Did the show’s title, “Anticipation,” reveal itself to you after you started looking at possible pieces for the show?
KI: It was more like the show’s theme simply became its title.
TOC: Artist Susanne Kutter’s 2003 video, Flooded Home, shows a living room slowly being flooded with water until the furniture is floating. Where did you first encounter her work?
KI: I heard about Susanne’s work last spring through Paul Kusseneers Gallery in Antwerp and met with her last summer in Berlin. Like the Fischli and Weiss, the objects in her living room start to take on personalities as they begin to float; the “drama” unfolds slowly and is completely mesmerizing.
TOC: In Hill Climbing, the 1999 sound/video piece made by Canadians Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, the artists present a never-ending trek up a hill. It seems optimistic but also a tad sadistic. We are encouraged, via headphones, to keep going, yet the image is looped so that we never reach the top. Will you tell us about why you wanted this piece in the show?
KI:Hill Climbing is all about frustration, I think. It is a beautiful image, on one hand, but we get stuck in the struggle of climbing up the hill, without the payoff of seeing what is over the crest of the hill. So much of our viewing of time-based mediums is about expectation, and the often overwhelming need for resolution. This piece confronts us with the disconnect that often occurs between what we see and what we desire to see. In many of the pieces in this show, the artist is pushing us to resolve or create a narrative on our own.
TOC: As technology improves and becomes more affordable, is it becoming more challenging for artists to create work or use these tools in innovative ways?
KI: No, I would say it’s the reverse, that as technology improves there are many possibilities opening up for artists. But technology is a tool, and I think art often fails if the artist gets too caught up in the novelty of it at the expense of ideas.

“Anticipation” is on view at the Museum of Contemporary Photography through May 20.