How Man-Made Disasters and their Media Coverage Affect the Interpretation of Art: A Case Study

by Paddy Johnson on June 9, 2010 · 10 comments Blurb



Fia Backstrom, Recycle (Hanging proposal for sculpture by Kelley Walker), at Murray Guy, photo by Marina Galperina

Constant bad news over the BP oil spill in Mexico is making me think about Fia Backstrom’s 2007 piece Recycle (Hanging proposal for sculpture by Kelley Walker). Back in January I described the work as a kum-bi-ya plastic picnic homage to Kelley Walker, an artist known for using advertising media as subject matter. What do I think of the hanging curtain, thinker-throw pillow piece now that there’s a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Somehow the work looks much more sinister than it did back then. Notably, the nod to Walker is almost completely sublimated by the disaster.

{ 10 comments }

Caio Fernandes June 9, 2010 at 4:19 pm

sorry , but it all just looks like self-promoting .

i don't see nothing real there .

Caio Fernandes June 9, 2010 at 12:19 pm

sorry , but it all just looks like self-promoting .

i don't see nothing real there .

Joe Roumeliotis June 9, 2010 at 9:42 pm

And the Bruce High Quality Foundation’s piece from 2007 seems prescient:

http://www.thebrucehighqualityfoundation.com/Site/Beyond_Pastoral.html

Joe Roumeliotis June 9, 2010 at 5:42 pm

And the Bruce High Quality Foundation’s piece from 2007 seems prescient:

http://www.thebrucehighqualityfoundation.com/Site/Beyond_Pastoral.html

jeff June 9, 2010 at 11:24 pm

The Gulf of New Mexico?

jeff June 9, 2010 at 7:24 pm

The Gulf of New Mexico?

Jesse P. Martin June 10, 2010 at 11:12 pm

Oh… I thought that you were still talking about WANGA! Misleading headline.

Jesse P. Martin June 10, 2010 at 7:12 pm

Oh… I thought that you were still talking about WANGA! Misleading headline.

Adam June 12, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Adam June 12, 2010 at 12:34 pm

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