Monday so far has been very very small. Small morning, small mind, small public urinal behind the train station. I think it has to do with the shortening of the Rhine. Tragic, really. The Rhine.But Saturday was huge. At an exhibition in Bonn, I fell in love with Erwin Wurm. I did everything he asked. I lay down in a public place and thought of nothing. Balanced a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner on my head and thought about digestion. Climbed into a box.
Wurm is the discoverer of one-minute sculptures. You make them with your body, and then relinquish them. It doesn’t have anything to do with Buddhism. That's one in the photo at right. Oranges.
I stopped to write something down in my notebook. (“The house climbed up to the roof and contemplated jumping off.”)
Museum guard: Writing with a pen is not allowed.
Me: What, in the museum?
Him: Yes.
Me: Why not?
Him: Because if ink gets on the artwork, it won’t come off. There are pencils available downstairs at the desk.
Me: And if pencil gets on the artwork, it’s just as bad if you try to erase it.
I know all about the duty to fight stupidity, but I didn’t pursue it. The exhibition, after all, also concerned absurdity. And he wasn’t being a jerk or anything. Still, you’re not allowed that close to the artwork that you could write on it. If I wanted to damage the artwork, I’d bring my gun, which works from far away.
Anyway, Erwin Wurm. Excellent guy.
5 comments:
Das interessiert mir sehr. Whenever I go to MOMA in NYC, I always get very stimulated and come home with drawings and ideas. I like your climbing, jumping house. The beginnings of a poem? LOVED the video!
Wonderful recommendations. I'm new to your blog, Sarah via Kass and I love the light heartedness and creativity of Wurm's installations? Is that what you call them - these spontaneous sculptures of human life.
I like the video, too. He's very appealing. Some of Wurm's work is installations, but I don't know what I'd call his one-minute sculptures. There are always props so I guess instatllations is correct, but in a way it's almost performance art, making the observer the artist, too. I haven't considered it before!
S: You're sure to love the monograph on Mr Wurm. It was brought out by Dumont & is likely available in Europe. Here is the US Amazon.com link:
http://www.amazon.com/Erwin-Wurm-Helmut-Friedel/dp/383219259X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271442150&sr=1-1
The pickle on the cover is 3-D.
Thanks, Richard. I've seen that book. I almost bought it at the show but had spent the previous few days complaining about money so I thought it might look bad if I just dropped 35 euros in front of everyone's face.
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