i think i'm in love.
back seat dodge '38
when asked why the two characters back seat dodge '38 share the same head, he stated that it was "because they have the same thing on their minds." i like how grim and sleazy this work is, with the car reduced to its focal backseat, the stained windows, the discarded bottles and the man made of chicken wire and a spark plug.
the state hospital
five car stud
these are the only photographs i can find of this work. apparently it is set inside a tent. the tableau challenges the viewers participation in the scene, where six white men perform an 'illegal operation' on a black man, whose race is indicated by an oil pan filled with black oil acting as a torso, with the letters spelling 'nigger' floating on it like some kind of crude spaghetti message.
keinholz manages to strip away the immediate senses of reality that would otherwise leave the work novelty and entertaining, thus distanced from reality. the work is instead more thought provoking, which he achieves by retaining basic and disturbing elements that symbolize what he wants to communicate. five car stud reminded me of joseph beuys work, except his symbolisms are to a much more ambiguous extent; one sometimes has to investigate him and his work heavily to fully grasp it. Frequently this is through materials that possess strong connotations or puns (the literal balls of steel on the man being castrated, for example). they demand attention and time for discovery, and after that the challenge of how you are going to cope with the work that shares your space. some suggestions for a viewer of five car stud included participation or disregard.
so, very exited for when the hoerengracht will be in the national gallery.
No comments:
Post a Comment