by Robert del Valle for Real Detroit Weekly, December 20, 2006

Now THIS is something different. If you were as enthralled as we were by the Orson Welles film F is for Fake, you’ll undoubtedly be intrigued by the current offering at the Museum of New Art in Pontiac.

Swindle: Art in America is a fascinating retrospective on the career of Cesar Marzetti, a gentleman who has (and we are quoting the press release verbatim) “stolen every image from the most recent issue of Art in America, copied and reprinted them all, then signed and made them his own — but with a twist.”

The twist evidently is that Marzetti wishes to draw attention to one of the key questions of contemporary aesthetics — when art is mass produced can it still be linked directly to a single creator?

Further, Marzetti himself does not regard his works as art per se, but as manifestations that relentlessly destroy the original objects. Is this Dada (with a twist?) or a welcome dash of humorous nihilism? Settle the question for yourself with a visit to MONA between now and Jan. 24.