handle with care

“They are basically a unit of space owned by a corporation in which to ship objects,” explains Walead Beshty, the London-born author of the FedEx series. The fact that FedEx was able to copyright the dimensions of their boxes – in Beshtys’ own words – this idea of a company being able to “own” an empty volume of air that was only designed to transport goods seemed so surreal to him that it motivated this artwork that turned into a decade-long series.

Since 2007 Beshty constructed glass boxes that would fit inside the FedEx shipping containers, exactly matching their interior dimensions. He send them out to the museums or …. without any padding or additional protection. Then, when the piece arrived to its final destination, it was usually cracked but not totally shattered (Beshty constructed them constructed from shatter-proof glass).

That way, the key element that gives each art-piece its uniqueness happens in transit – the shattering gives each piece its own individual story. 

All of the art pieces were named after the FedEx deliveries: the date of shipment, tracking number and box dimensions, then put on display (e.g.: FedEx® Large Box ©2005 FEDEX 139751 REV 10/05 SSCC, Priority Overnight, Los Angeles-New York trk#795506878000, November 27-28, 2007).

Keep up with Walead’s work online: regenprojects.com/artists/walead-beshty

Sources:
https://weburbanist.com/2017/02/09

Picture from:
https://www.yellowtrace.com.au/walead-beshty-fedex-works/ 

mirrored tombstones

“From a distance, the mirrors shine brightly but the closer you get the less attractive they become because they reflect reality,” says Parisian artist, Kader Attia, speaking on his series “Holy Land”. The environment altering installations of mirrored tombstones have been displayed in two locations, one on the Canary Islands and the other in the countryside of Tucson. Attia’s Interest lies in the conflict of identity, specifically cultural backgrounds and ethnicity.

Upon visiting Holy Land, people are firstly confronted with stunning and lively reflections, but upon further consideration, they also find a strong reminder of their own mortality.

The French-Algerian artist has always been interested in the conflicts of identity, particularly in regard to cultural backgrounds and ethnicity. For Holy Land, he chose to place the material items within nature in order to form an uncomfortable tension and to remind us of our own individuality, as well as our “human vanity and the desire to dominate nature.”

Keep up with Kader’s work online: http://kaderattia.de

Sources:
https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/street-art/kader-attias-mirrored-tombstones/
http://mymodernmet.com/kader-attia-holy-land/

Picture from:
http://kaderattia.de

the pillars

This article is focused on the importance of knowledge in the society. I know – books went out of style a long time ago and people use them mostly out of necessity or just for the entertainment nowadays. But books are so much more than that, they are important tools, or at least they can be, if you know how to use them.

Indeed, historically certain books have had dramatic impacts on the thinking of whole societies. Consider, for example, Charles Darwin’s book, “The Origin of Species,” published in 1859. The theory of evolution first popularized by this book has dominated the thinking of “educated” people around the world for over a hundred years. Hardly anyone reads that book any more, but the movement it helped to spawn continues unabated. It was like a match that started an inferno that is still raging.

Of course, some books have positive rather than negative results. The Bible comes to mind immediately, but it is in a class entirely of its own because it is the infallible, inspired Word of God. Other examples of influential books could be mentioned, but the point should be clear enough: books are important tools for human beings; they play a key role in the transmission of information from one generation to another, or in the communication and spread of new ideas, as well as other important tasks.

This are the “Pillars” – the work of Ishmael Randall Weeks, that show us the true “power of knowledge”. He creates works on paper, sculpture, and mixed media installations and often incorporates found and recycled objects.

In Pillars, four columns made of concrete and built-in books function as the framework of an imaginary building or the basis of our ideas, where the different layers of the materials reveal their historical and sensitive burden. Because from knowledge we build the pillars of the mind.

“My work encompasses site-specific installations, sculpture, video, and works on paper. In these works, issues of urbanization, transformation, regeneration, escape, collapse, and nomadic existence have been predominant. The foundation of my larger-scale work lies in the alteration of materials (including such source materials as books and printed matter, empty tins, old tires, bicycles, boat parts, and building construction fragments) that are often altered to create sculptural objects and architectural spaces. These works take the visual form of functional objects while stripping them of their productivity to address notions of labour and utility, forcing an examination of our understanding of culturally specific forms while simultaneously exploiting and adapting their particular codes and associations.”

Keep up with Ishmael’s work online: @ishmaelrw

Sources:
http://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/ishmael-randall-weeks
http://southasastateofmind.com/south-likes-ishmael-randall-weeks-arroniz-mexico-city/
https://chalcedon.edu/resources/articles/what-difference-can-a-book-make-the-impact-and-influence-of-the-genesis-flood

Picture from:
http://www.federicaschiavo.com/Artists/Ishmael-Randall-Weeks

the game of shadows

Tim Noble and Sue Webster are London-based artists whose work combines trash, light, shadow and humour. They collect and transforms these random objects into “statues” that show us two realities. At first glance, we see just the piles of trash, the products of a throw-away society. But we soon discover, that the piles are in fact precise constructions that cast shadows under directed light.

The play of shadow andlight simultaneously recalls one of the oldest philosophical critiques: Plato’s Cave Allegory: that it is the artist’s responsibility to create objects that can transcend terrestrial life by giving us a glimpse of the metaphysical.

This piece of work called “Trash culture” was made by collecting 6 months’ worth of trash (mostly food and beverage packaging that is a major component of global pollution) made by the couple of these artists. A pile like that can be found in almost anyone’s trash can over the space of six months to create another couple’s profile.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster’s work–through shock, horror, and beauty–exposes the deeper infirmities of our shadow selves. In bringing such sickly corpses to light, perhaps we can begin to reconfigure our relationship with the natural world we seem so bent on destroying.

How much trash do you generate in a six-month period? Measuring the amount of trash you send to the landfill is a great first step towards reducing it.

Keep up with Sue’s and Tim’s work online: @myblackbaby + @timnoblesuewebster

Sources:
http://www.artworksforchange.org/portfolio/tim-noble-and-sue-webster/
https://www.blainsouthern.com/artists/tim-noble-sue-webster
http://weirdfictionreview.com/2012/07/tim-noble-and-sue-webster-give-a-few-extra-turns-of-the-screw/

Picture from:
http://www.artworksforchange.org/portfolio/tim-noble-and-sue-webster/