Ran across this news item this week. Jesus in thumbtacks.
Artist Rob Surette made a portrait of the Risen Lord with over 24K of thumbtacks.
aaaaaand my reaction - (swivel big chair to face camera....the one in my pretend talk show)
First off, Surette hit media gold with this - the story landed on Huffington Post, Blade, AOL - it was just the kind of piece that could travel - quick and easy, works as a news blurb. Add to this the work itself - easy to digest, the religious aspect is always a lightning rod for engagement, and the use of an every day item (thumbtacks) made the whole thing approachable to Joe Public. Home run.
Not that this guy needs any help being mediable - he's a speed painter (big canvases of someone famous done right before your eyes) that has been on Leno and Good Morning America. You know this bullshit right? Kind of like "art meets the infomercial."
That schtick aside - this work is solid. Think about how smart the piece is - Jesus is a world superstar, His image is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the Shroud of Turin. His image has been carved in gold, ivory, marble. Now He is rendered in - office supplies. Using thumbtacks is a great foil for the traditional religious artistry and iconography around Jesus, and a commentary on bringing all that, plus religion, and Jesus himself into our everyday lives.
And here's what I'm seeing as a trend (and feeling it in my own work). There's an argument here for the evolution of art beyond traditional means for creating it. Art and art in society is now several steps away from the legacy tools of paint and canvas and charcoal, instead asking us to use things like garbage, office supplies, urban found objects - it is asking us to use something else. As a kind of bridge to relevancy? It's interesting.
Jesus in Thumbtacks - I'm not turning my nose up at it.
And hell, the dude made $250,000 on the thing. Not bad for a guy who came from Arlington, Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science/Business from St. Anselm. The only downside is that the story seems more about the thumbtacks than the art right?
That's one of my points anyway. Heh.
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