Art | Two shows at ICA, one in flux and one that stays with you

Meandering through "Locally Localized Gravity" at the Institute of Contemporary Art is like visiting a summer art camp while all the kiddies are at lunch. There's a makeshift stage mounted on plastic milk crates, television sets scattered throughout that play continuously, and lots of signs hanging from wires and pinned to the walls. Some have been made by visitors, and you're welcome to add your own contribution.

If you try to understand this multimedia installation as a conventional exhibition, you'll be lost. There's certainly a lot to look at - the colorful "treehouse" towers in one corner, created by members of the local collective Space 1026, are particularly appealing, although the art inside them isn't. However, no matter how much you look and read - and a lot of reading is required - the show's individual parts fail to coalesce into a focused presentation.

Eventually, if you read enough, you'll discover that focus isn't the point. "Gravity" represents a parallel universe of art practice in which artists collaborate, even to the point of submerging individual identities as they do here. They not only produce art, they also organize their own shows and performances, and print their own publications. They promote and sell (or try to) their work on the Web.

The advent of instant global electronic communication has encouraged the growth of this democratized art. Even the playground atmosphere of the installation, especially the emphasis on music and other types of performance, signals that young people are in charge.

With "Gravity" the ICA sets out to give us over-30s an idea of what this parallel world is like. As the curators explain, they didn't so much organize this exhibition as manage it. The ICA provided the 5,000-square-foot space, while the eight invited artists and artists' groups, including four from Philadelphia, created the content - more than 75 performances and events (demonstrations, films and lectures) during the show's nine-week run.

The substantial events schedule for "Gravity" are available on the ICA's Web site; a downloadable PDF catalog soon will be.

The events are the missing, critical dimension for visitors who come in when nothing special is happening. It's like wandering into an empty theater on the morning of opening night.

This points up the most salient characteristic of this communal art playground: its firm grounding in the moment. "Gravity" feels transient and serendipitous. All of what you see, hear and read today might not be available tomorrow. It's art as blogging, with all that implies about substance and permanence.

If you'd prefer an exhibition with a bit more gravity and staying power, step into the fascinating second-floor presentation by Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa. Like the artists in "Gravity," he involves himself in the way art - or, in his case, architecture - can influence social change.

Garaicoa isn't a trained architect, although when you see his show you might think so. He uses the language of architecture as a painter uses pigments, to create striking and imaginative images of urban dynamics and the way cities evolve.

For instance, one of his most engaging pieces is a giant chessboard in which the various game pieces are represented as miniature buildings. Playing on this board represents the way cities continually wax and wane architecturally and economically. This metaphor is especially apt for the artist's home of Havana, which he offers as an example of a failed and disintegrating utopia.

Garaicoa's most enchanting piece depicts a futuristic city floating in air. The "buildings" are geometrically architectonic rice-paper lamps clustered like tethered balloons. They contrast starkly with the crumbling reality of Havana that the artist knows intimately.

Garaicoa's way of interlacing history, political ideology and architectural design through masterly technical virtuosity makes his show an event to remember. It's not nearly as cuddly as "Gravity," but it's intensely focused, passionate and provocative. These are far more important attributes for a museum show than collegiality and audience participation.

"Locally Localized Gravity" and "Carlos Garaicoa" continue at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 36th and Sansom Streets, through March 25. The gallery is open from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $6 general and $3 for artists, seniors and students over 12. Information: 215-898-5911 or www.icaphila.org.

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