This article by Stephanie Cash raises a lot of polemics and debates about the art of Erwin Wurm.The tension between what is traditionally understood as sculpture and performance is blurred and brought to another level in his pieces even though "Wurm calls himself a sculptor".
There is also a very commercial possibility about Erwin Wurm's work which before was not obvious to me. It turns out, you can have your photo taken whilst performing his instructions in an art gallery; by paying extra cash it will be sent to Wurm and signed so it is authenticised as "art". The irony of people doing the art for him and paying for it! Other Instruction books by Erwin Wurm include "How to gain two clothing sizes in eight days (1993)" and "Instructions for Idleness (2001). The latter contains instructions such as "take naps on the office toilet", "stay in your pyjamas all day". Another book called "Instructions for political incorrectness" suggests "spit in someone's soup". I mean who would spit in someone's soup in the name of art?
No comments:
Post a Comment