Typically these days, an MFA thesis show is less exhibition than art fair, with each newly minted graduate almost climbing over one another in order to attract more attention than his or her peers. These shows are crowded and incoherent, and difficult places to connect meaningfully with art. Rejecting all this, Stanford's 2009 MFA graduates opted instead for an experimental and collaborative model that strives for something different.

Wunderflater, 2009; installation view, Thomas Welton Stanford Gallery.

The five graduating artists--Michael Arcega, Reed Anderson, Cobi van Tonder, Kazumi Shiho and Jina Valentine--could not take more different approaches in their practices. Arcega is best known for finely crafted, quirky sculptures that comically address the colonial history of the Philippines, his ancestral home. Anderson creates cut-paper structures and architectures. Van Tonder creates interactive works triggered by sound and movement, Shiho uses fabric and other ephemeral materials to build atmospheric spatial enclosures, and Valentine collects and makes images inspired by folk art motifs as well as an Art Brut sensibility.

For Wunderflater, they have allowed their personal interests to take a backseat, contributing instead to a group project that contains elements of each artist's approach. The exhibition includes an installation inside a scaled-down replica of the Thomas Welton Stanford Gallery, which is itself enclosed inside a soft, white inflatable structure. Each artist has created a layer within or outside of a layer created by another collaborator. The result is a museum-as-turducken: as a chicken might be stuffed inside a duck inside a turkey, Arcega's and Valentine's work is found inside of Anderson's, which is in turn encompassed by Shiho's.

Van Tonder's work suffers the most from this unconventional presentation, as it was practically imperceptible during the show's opening. Arcega's distinctive visual style comes across strongly, despite his efforts to sublimate his aesthetic to the group. Valentine's obsessive archiving and cataloguing project is hard to fully appreciate in the dim light of the double-enclosure. Anderson's replica of the gallery--though well constructed--is nonetheless difficult to view clearly from inside Shiho's giant inflatable. However, the structure's gentle movement and diffusion of light and sound succeeds in lending the installation an inviting and soothing air.

Ultimately, Wunderflater sacrifices appreciation of the individual artists' works in favor of a grand, unevenly realized experiment in cooperation. The show offers a less articulate alternative to the tired art fair model for MFA shows than could be desired. Even so, the group's risk-taking spirit is to be commended, despite that the result feels a bit confused.

Wunderflater is on view at the Thomas Welton Stanford Gallery at Stanford University through June 14, 2009.