As interpreted by Michel Foucault, Das Narrenschiff (The Ship of Fools), a fifteenth-century satire by Sebastian Brant, imagines a world in which knowledge belongs squarely in the realm of madness, useful only to those who would debate idly and apply nothing to experience. Artist Daniel Joseph Martinez (born 1957) has recognized the relevance of this allegory to present times, and through text paintings, photographs and sculptures, he has traced contemporary Los Angeles onto Foucault’s conception of Narrenschiff. Inspired by bus rides observing his fellow passengers, Martinez conceived of four narratives that explore a modern kind of knowledge-based perversity. The Report of My Death Is an Exaggeration, which documents Martinez’s installation of these works at Roberts & Tilton in Culver City, California, also features an essay by art historian, critic and curator Juli Carson.

Text by: Juli Carson