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.

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)

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Gordon Matta-Clark's installations of cut-up buildings could easily have been mistaken for a do-it-yourself home improvement project wrong.

Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978), who had studied architecture in university, knew exactly the possibilities and restrictions of his unorthodox sculptural material. Interesting to see how in one project he would only touch the skin of the architecture leaving the structure in tact (e.g. 'Conical Intersect') and in another cut through structure (e.g. 'Splitting') leaving an unbalanced building.
Whatever approach he used it altered both the concept of building and surrounding in his own urban interpretation of "Earth Art".

Being a member of the Anarchitecture group Matta-Clark's work is filled with social engagement. Not only in the use of derelict buildings and leftover urban spaces but also in works like 'Garbage Wall': a homeless shelter, or 'Fresh-Air Cart': a sculptural pamflet about air-polution.

His diy-approach can further be seen in projects like Food, a restaurant run be artists and a cultural meeting place in Soho, NY.


Gordon Matta-Clark, 'Self Portrait' (1972)


Gordon Matta-Clark, 'Conical Intersect' (1975)


'Splitting' (1974)


Gordon Matta-Clark, 'Fresh-Air Cart' (1972)