tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266205022206053612.post4876050775975383222..comments2014-09-30T10:00:47.275-07:00Comments on Art:Supplied: One Person's Trash...Olivia Faleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16231774646508495107noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266205022206053612.post-40677746786600381852011-01-20T19:28:18.980-08:002011-01-20T19:28:18.980-08:00Thanks for the insightful comments! For those inte...Thanks for the insightful comments! For those interested in further exploring trash in our culture, I recommend this interview with Robin Nagle, an anthropologist-in-residence at New York City's Department of Sanitation: http://www.believermag.com/issues/201009/?read=interview_nagle. She discusses garbage, consumerism, and our culture's relationship to waste. It should also highlight the gravity of Pfannerstill's works.Olivia Faleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16231774646508495107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266205022206053612.post-14892661206374051902011-01-17T10:47:10.498-08:002011-01-17T10:47:10.498-08:00To artisnottrash:
I got a chance to see the exhi...To artisnottrash: <br /><br />I got a chance to see the exhibit and at first glance I would have agreed with you. The pieces looked exactly like you would expect them to look if you just put up an old, crumpled cup of Coke or Chinese take-out box on a wall. The price of the pieces further exacerbated this; I was a little offended that the artist wanted me to pay $900 for what amounted to glorified crap.<br /><br />However, when I learned that Pfannerstill had hand-crafted this "trash" out of wood, it completely inverted my take on the exhibit. Not only is Pfannerstill an excellent craftsmen, but I think that his work underscores that the significance of art often lies not just in the final product (and its reflection of society), but also very much in how the product was created.<br /><br />-DanDanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09951797425207145872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266205022206053612.post-65390067377075615082011-01-17T01:00:16.662-08:002011-01-17T01:00:16.662-08:00Olivia, I am no expert in contemporary art, but an...Olivia, I am no expert in contemporary art, but an amateur, so I find the content of your blog very interesting. After photography Michelangelo's art cannot make sense anymore. Making sense is what an artist should achieve before all, and trash is a crucial metaphor today, not to mention its actual importance as a central global issue in itself. Yet, these works are no trash, but a handcrafted, *art*ificial representation of it.<br />On a side note, I love the style that you use, Olivia. And that Latin sentence! Kudos for all! (A Greek encouragement was required...)<br />PaoloPaolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14410410835949255850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266205022206053612.post-51430072051279876862011-01-16T18:48:06.044-08:002011-01-16T18:48:06.044-08:00I am going to disagree that this is "art"...I am going to disagree that this is "art". Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Renoir are artists. This trash is just a reminder of the over consumption and waste that plagues society.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266205022206053612.post-75638882737482412062011-01-16T18:39:54.413-08:002011-01-16T18:39:54.413-08:00Way to go Olivia!
I was also reminded of Idele We...Way to go Olivia!<br /><br />I was also reminded of Idele Weber's painting "Heineken" at the Nelson-Atkins<br /><br />http://www.flickr.com/photos/langkawi/4401732526/<br /><br />... and for the archeologist in you, there was recently an exhibit at the Kemper Museum at Wash U which featured the Brazilian conceptual artist Rivane Neuenschwander. The exhibit included a piece called "Involutary Sculptures" where the artist literay went around to different bars, collecting what most would call trash (straws bent into various shapes and curled bits of paper, etc, which were made by the bar patrons)<br /><br />http://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/exhibitions/neuenschwanderAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01381657974900247915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266205022206053612.post-62983967588000530672011-01-16T17:13:22.724-08:002011-01-16T17:13:22.724-08:00Great article, Olivia! I really like your Oldenber...Great article, Olivia! I really like your Oldenberg comparison, but I think perhaps these works might also be productively compared to Jasper John's meticulously replicated, painted bronze, Ballantine Ale cans or Savarin Coffee can, linked to below.<br /><br />http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1996/johns/pages/johns.painted.bronze.html<br /><br />http://www.artchive.com/artchive/J/johns/savarin.jpg.html<br /><br />I think that in both Johns and perhaps in Pfannerstill, one can find a playful kind of wit and nose-thumbing at the expense of the institution of art patronage. One might recall the often cited anecdote about the beer cans' origin in which Willem de Kooning, abstract expressionist, lamented on the marketability of Postmodern art: “That son of a bitch Castelli, You could give him two beer cans and he could sell them.” Purportedly, Johns heard this provocation and embraced it head on. Pfannerstill's work, too, pushes the boundaries of what art can be and raises questions about the art market's unquestioned authority when it comes to controlling the tastes of elite buyers.<br /><br />I also really enjoyed your characterization of these objects as a kind of memento mori. When viewed in this light, these sculptures speak of death, memorialization, and even resurrection.<br /><br />Really enjoyable post. Thanks!<br /><br />NikiAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05495218817346534679noreply@blogger.com