Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Art of Not Being Boxed-in

An introduction today, via the duties of the workplace, to the work of the late Birgir Andresson, & specifically the artist's cut-out cardboard boxes of his 'Build' series, one of which is pictured in two views below:




Such an encounter brought a pleasant reminder of Leo Fitzmaurice's smaller scale 'de-texted' boxes in similar vein, examples of which, arranged on the floor to all appearances like the buildings of a model city, I was fortunate to see, & hear the artist himself discuss, in an exhibition at Liverpool's Bluecoat Gallery back in 2002. Below are illustrated a pair of the general type:



In both cases, the process of removing the lettering & logos that would identify their (former) contents, brand them, & communicate something particular through one language, transforms utilitarian objects into forms that might inspire a more imaginative, literally & figuratively open reading, such as drawing an architectural analogy to the remaining, redesigned structures, spaces to be explored & considered.

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