PIPES

Pipes, what would we do without them! Supplying nature's minerals to our houses and carrying organic waste out.

Considering this, all pipe fitting should be done using Burçak Bingöl's flower patterned pipes.

Burçak Bingöl, 'Kapali Devre (Closed Circuit)' (2011)

Burçak Bingöl, 'Kapali Devre (Closed Circuit)'(detail), (2011)

For more of Burçak Bingöl's work look here.

Showing until 14/06/2011 at Cda Projects in Istanbul.

SEALING KIT

To make our modern buildings look like tight minimalistic objects and our cities as transparent as air, sealing kit and mirrored glass are the architects and city planners favourite materials. Of course - and maybe in consequence - the DIY-er knows his way around with sealing kit and glass foil - the new idiom of the art of building - as well.

The Turkish artist duo :mentalKLINIK reflects and questions our relation with the surrounding objects. In the 'Silver' series they have made panels of foiled glass, sealed with kit in their frames. The series 'Bias' and a work like 'Turnup' consists of anodic oxidised aluminium strips kitted togther with pink sealing kit.
These objects remind us of minimal art like Dan Graham's or Donald Judd's. On the other hand they might just as well be glass panes from a modern office building, with green polymer sealing kit pouring out of their frames.

:mentalKLINIK, 'Silver (06,07)', 2009

:mentalKLINIK, 'Turnup', 2009

TOOL BOX

Dan Peterman, conceptual DIY-artist with an ecologist's mind, makes sculptures and installations mostly from recycled consumer plastic.

The 'Carrying Case', an early work, is from before the use of recycled plastic. The 'Storage' sculpture refers to storage space in wholesale hardware stores, while the 'Nailless Bench' is proof of the designer's mind.

Dan Peterman, 'W/ Carrying Case 500 Series - Red, Handle On Case, Unidentified' (1988-1989)

Dan Peterman, '4-Ton Vertical Storage' (1996)

Dan Peterman, 'Nailless Bench' (2009)

Find more on Dan Peterman's work in the Fitness Feedback blog.

POWER TOOLS

The Power Tool, as everybody knows, is an extention of masculinity and manhood.

Rubén Ortiz Torres, a Mexican artist living in L.A., U.S.A., portraits stereotypes of the Mexican immigrant in his Pan-American relation to "the American citizen".

Mexicans in California are usually destined to manual labor like gardening or window washing. The macho Chicano is also known for his lowrider: the shiny pimped classic car with hydraulic suspension, sitting low above the ground.

Torres's sculptures and installations combine the power tool of the low-income job (like leaf blowers and lawn mowers) with the hydraulics and polished chrome of the lowrider. These sculptures not only portrait Mexican culture within the U.S.A. but also comment on their political-social relationship.
To read the interesting story behind the pimped leaf-blowers on Torres's own blog follow this link.


Rubén Ortiz Torres, 'Power Tools (detail)', (1999)


Rubén Ortiz Torres, 'Power Tools (detail)', (1999)


Rubén Ortiz Torres, 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' (2002)


Rubén Ortiz Torres, '1492 Indians vs. Dukes' (1993)

DIY REVERSAL

Reusing wood from dumpsters in his renovation-projects riddled home town of Rotterdam, NL, Ron van der Ende crafts cunning photo-realistic bas-reliefs of his favourite topics. The panels exist of assembled pieces of precisely cut pre-painted and carefully selected salvaged wood (old doors, cabinets, floor boards, window sills, etc.) as in a mosaic.
Check it out!


Ron van der Ende, 'Work-Table / Werktafel' (2003 – 2005)


Ron van der Ende, 'Grytviken (Whalers Lodge)' (2007)


Ron van der Ende, 'Peekskill' (2008)


Ron van der Ende, 'Silver Machine (Lotus Turbo Esprit 1983)' (2007)

SELF-ASSEMBLY

Tools and machines, assembly required. Michael Johansson's sculptures and installations reflect on the aesthetics of our growing DIY, home improvement and interior design culture.
The beauty (of the potential) of the unassembled kit and organised space.
Michael Johansson is from Sweden.


Michael Johansson, 'Some Assembly Required - Starter Kit' (2011)


Michael Johansson, 'Engine Bought Seperately - Hugin' (2007)


Michael Johansson, 'Some Assembly Required - Scooter' (2007)


Michael Johansson, 'Engine Bought Seperately - Volta' (2007)

SELFMADE/READYMADE

What if every subject has been turned into object? Nothing left but to turn the tools used in this proces into subject themselves.
This might be a simplified explanation of the installation work 'Tisch' ('Table') by Swiss duo artist Fischli/Weiss.
Fischli/Weiss's work is known for their relativism: photo's of non-descript airports, cause-action videos, objects in dangerous balance, concrete moulded 'landscapes'.
'Tisch' looks like the content of their studio being transfered 'as-is' to the museum floor. However, every bit in the installation is a polyurethane reproduction of these objects.
Leaning towards the readymade, the existentialism in their work goes further then that. The bold reflection in a work like 'Tisch' or 'Airport' questions our surroundings deeper then just their superficial easthetics.
In 'Tisch' the readymade is reproduced to represent the tools and materials used in the making: a mirror inside a mirror.




Fischli/Weiss, 'Tisch' (1992-ongoing)