Object Appropriation and Subject Matter

In the realm of three dimensional arts, one might question what constitutes 3D art and what forms it appears in. Three dimensional arts in the case of one man’s perspective contains living and inanimate forms combined to create sculpture. Erwin Wurm’s One Minute Sculpture’s at the Henry Art Gallery are artworks which can be described not only as three dimensional sculptures, but also as performance art. Most of the works involve objects a person might encounter every day, as well as some sort of action performed by the human body, in this case his own body. In Erwin Wurm’s works, three dimensional art is living or interactive sculpture.

One Minute Sculptures, by Erwin Wurm, 1980’s to present day. Here Erwin Wurm combines either his own body or another person’s body with everyday objects in balancing acts or acts of multitasking. For a full minute, the person participating must accomplish the goal which creates balance or harmony between themselves and the object(s). This moment in time the person participates becomes separate from their other everyday actions.[1]

The works are performed in an empty area to make it clear that he is documenting the subject matter, which is inclusive of him, and some sort of physical interaction with objects and space. In one instance, the viewer witnesses Wurm attempting to balance a potato on the top of the handle of what appears to be a toilet bowl brush. It falls multiple times and finally balances. The goal in this case, as well as each other instance, is to create a sculpture which lasts or is interacted with for an entire minute. Another example of this interaction is Wurm’s attempt to balance himself lengthwise, sideways on a small beam of wood without touching the ground. The wood being the same length as his own body and only a fraction of it in width makes the attempt difficult for the artist to successfully perform and for the viewer to watch. The artwork is an action, and yet contains objects which cannot act on their own. The interactive study present in the Henry Art Gallery (in February of 2012) for participation asks the viewer to complete tasks involving balance and direct contact with the objects available, without planning. For example, the act of trying to balance a tennis ball, orange, and an apple on top of each other for an entire minute. The work asks the artist and viewer to incorporate a variety of everyday items and unify them based on scale and proportion, creating a rhythm and balance between the object and the human interaction with them. The artwork becomes dependent upon any one artists personal energy and movement. In some ways the action of performing the work of art has become a skill or craft, if not a commentary on both.

The fact that Wurm’s works must include human interaction of some sort puts an emphasis on the fact that sculpture is a 3D experience. Instead of just interacting with the sculpture on all sides visually, he asks people to be hands on. The blurring of lines between sculpture and performance art create an experience which the artist intended for himself and also the viewers to have. Recording the works and having the viewer watch them allows the viewer to try to understand and relate to the artist’s experiences while making the sculpture. While watching him try to balance, the artist might also feel his struggle. The implications of balance and symmetry in Erwin Wurm’s work make the viewer dwell on the idea of the struggle to create balance and to think about how we interact with things daily. He takes ordinary objects out of context to put emphasis on the fact that perception can be changed. He may inspire viewers to interact with the world around them from a different point of view and with a different mindset about what it means to relate to an object or space, and what a change in context can do to create or offset our perception of balance.

With recent traditions and changes in art, Erwin Wurm’s work is an example of appropriation: Using or placing objects and images out of context to give them a new purpose or meaning. Like other artists often do, Wurm is harkening back to ideas which are brought about in Marcel Duchamp’s work, one of Duchamp’s most famous works being Fountain.

Fountain, Marcel Duchamp, 1917. Originally displayed at a public gallery opening, Duchamp’s piece was removed based on the common response to its being derogatory and non-artistic. Duchamp repurposes a urinal to become, as he calls it, a fountain. Duchamp’s goal was to make a statement about how the viewer approaches art.[2]

Duchamp wanted to use appropriation of objects to create a subject matter which changes the framework for how a piece of art is viewed, or at least to start that thought process. Marcel Duchamp’s ideas became the basis for what I have explained as the institutional definition of art, and for the practices upheld in today’s artworld public. Marcel Duchamp, as well as contemporary artists like Erwin Wurm want to use objects out of their original context in order to (1) create discussion about how changing the context changes the objects meaning, and (2) make the viewer aware that art can no longer be viewed through a passive aesthetic lens, that it must be approached with a readiness to understand and learn from the work. Contemporary artists are constantly exploring the different uses of materials through which they might express their ideas and commentary on their personal life and how they perceive the world around them.

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[1] “one Minute Sculptures,” last modified July 12,2010, http://aplaceintheuniverse.blogspot.com/2010/07/one-minute-sculptures-by-erwin-wurm.html

[2] “PhotoKitchen Projects 2007-2008,” last modified March 10, 2012, http://www.pbase.com/evledstudio/image/85821870