I came across this work by the artist James Hopkins. Two pieces which I found particularly interesting are shown below. In a similar way to Maurer's "Porca Miseria", Hopkins' installations seem to use the ordinary and everyday to capture a moment in time.
Piece Kicks in the park
Date 2006
Description
43.31 x 59.06 x 55.12 inches
Pièce unique
'Kicks in the Park' is a park bench held in fragile equilibrium by beer bottles acting as counter weight. Between triviality and precision, this work references the mischievous and destructive time spent by teenagers getting drunk in the park while also acknowledging balance as one of the fundamental concerns in the tradition of sculpture, here achieved through bottles of alcohol.
Date 2006
Description
43.31 x 59.06 x 55.12 inches
Pièce unique
'Kicks in the Park' is a park bench held in fragile equilibrium by beer bottles acting as counter weight. Between triviality and precision, this work references the mischievous and destructive time spent by teenagers getting drunk in the park while also acknowledging balance as one of the fundamental concerns in the tradition of sculpture, here achieved through bottles of alcohol.
Source www.bugadacargnel.com
'American critic Brian Sholis beautifully sums up Hopkins’ practice by describing how he “slyly transforms everyday objects, imbuing them with the power of self-reflexive commentary, converting them into altogether different items, nudging them toward an “impossible” state that produces an astonished incredulity in those who behold them”. Hopkins’ work draws from the techniques of optical illusionism through which he involves viewers by teasing with their visual consciousness. His sculptures allude to Symbolist literature in their spin on decadence and the self-indulgence of dandy-ism: they recall the impermanence of objects and their persistence in memory, in a similar way Pop Art made use of iconic images derived from vain consumerism. His sculptures utilise everyday objects that are turned into impossible variations, even into sly commentaries of themselves. Seminal pieces include alterations of chairs, stools, tables, ladders or even pianos that achieve balance...'
Source www.maxwigram.com
I find the humour and symbolism of Hopkins' work very attractive with a much deeper underlying meaning than that visible at first glance. This work below clearly illustrates that.
'American critic Brian Sholis beautifully sums up Hopkins’ practice by describing how he “slyly transforms everyday objects, imbuing them with the power of self-reflexive commentary, converting them into altogether different items, nudging them toward an “impossible” state that produces an astonished incredulity in those who behold them”. Hopkins’ work draws from the techniques of optical illusionism through which he involves viewers by teasing with their visual consciousness. His sculptures allude to Symbolist literature in their spin on decadence and the self-indulgence of dandy-ism: they recall the impermanence of objects and their persistence in memory, in a similar way Pop Art made use of iconic images derived from vain consumerism. His sculptures utilise everyday objects that are turned into impossible variations, even into sly commentaries of themselves. Seminal pieces include alterations of chairs, stools, tables, ladders or even pianos that achieve balance...'
Source www.maxwigram.com
I find the humour and symbolism of Hopkins' work very attractive with a much deeper underlying meaning than that visible at first glance. This work below clearly illustrates that.
Piece Acid Rain
Date 2006
Description
75.98 x 75.98 x 101.18 inches
Pièce unique
'Acid Rain' is a standard garden greenhouse whose mirrored walls turn it into a kaleidoscopic room. The viewer's visual path is reflected into an enigmatic effect of infinity and repetition. The work is a humorous fusion of the familiar image of a green house and the disturbing experience of side-show theatrics, between climate control concerns and visual cloning.
Source www.bugadacargnel.com
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