wow, that would be so awesome to see in person!

Wow! That is just an amazing piece!

typo “istanbul”

Are you for real Coral?!?!

That was by far the worst review of artwork I’ve ever heard. Your review was a waste of space and I wish this site (hello, D*S?) would stop allowing people who can’t say anything nice to voice their “waste of space” opinions.

Anna

*I don’t even care that much about this piece but when people leave comments like this it makes me wonder if they know anything about art other than that it might confuse them and they can’t grasp what’s going on…

Anna

If I allow you to say what you said it’s only fair to allow Coral to say what she said.

I think she could have voiced her opinion in a more constructive way but unless she attacks someone personally I think it’s fine for her to think the work is a “waste of space”. Even if I personally disagree.

D*S

Check out Coral’s blog. Enough said. I’m shocked that someone that seems so New-Age could be so angry.

Trish

Back to Salcedo’s art…

I am joining the Wow Club here… Amazing!!

atrabiliarios is my favorite salcedo work and i’m lucky enought to work at a museum that owns a huge room installed with this work. (or it will, we’re in the midst of a huge expansion project right now that’s about to come to a close.) the work is made up of shoes that sit in little niches that are encased in the wall using a thin membrane of animal skin and bright red medical thread. the shoes were all donated by the families of columbian women who disappeared. it’s really gorgeous and very moving.

Wow, the piece looks great. Anyone know if the chairs are somehow fastened together or secured in place, because this just looks like a chair avalanche waiting to happen.

Coral - “steel cutlery and/or saucepans” - are you serious? That sounds like the most garish thing on earth. Does it need to be bright and shiny for you to be interested?

Trish - did you really just use “New-Age” as a compliment?

I find this chair installation to be quite frightful. It evokes in me a feeling of fear and dread and sadness. It may seem unaesthetic in the most obvious sense, however it still tells ‘its’ story (or ‘a’ story), thereby fulfilling its purpose as “art”…whatever “art” may mean to the viewer.

Controversial n’est pas?

Hello,

I actually meant “waste of space” in the sense of it being a waste of potential living space when one is forced to acknowledge the number of homeless people on the street who need shelter. A sheltered covering would be quite easy to install between the buildings and it could house a number of homeless persons. It would be more appropriate to place a chair pyramid in a building designed for chair pyramids.

There is probably a sign at the other side of this structure that says “recycle your old chairs here”. The camera ALWAYS lies.

The cutlery has been done and has gained worldwide accolades for its ingenuity. Try doing your cultural research.

Regards,
Coral

wow, drama. because this is a democracy we all get to say what we like and dislike. yeah for america!

i think it’s really cool, and while it is precarious and a bit frightful, perhaps that was its purpose. i think most art is meant to evoke whatever response may come from the viewer. it doesn’t have to mean anything. it’s just about what it means to you.

thanks for sharing grace!

Coral - “The cutlery has been done and has gained worldwide accolades for its ingenuity. Try doing your cultural research.” Nice attempt to retreat from your original comment that was an attack on the piece for being “drab.” Cultural research? Are you kidding? I was attacking you for having horrible (as in gross) aesthetic judgement.

Doris Salcedo’s work is not about furniture. The furniture (often combined with hair, bones, animal skin, clothing, etc.) is a vehicle for her largely political work in a country (Columbia) where tens of thousands of people have disappeared. Please, all, take the time to read a bit about her haunting work before making further uninformed comments.

this is the coolest thing I have ever seen — what an impact!
It is terrifying and beautiful all at once. see more of doris’ work here: http://www.alexanderandbonin.com/artists/salcedo/salcedo.html

Carefully looking at the photos of other works by Salcedo brought a head-smacking “duh” to this artist/critic; the influence of arte povera, use of pedestrian objects, and reference to socio-political events/conditions in her native Hemisphere-most of which were dated in the early-mid ’90’s, tells a bit more about her than a cursory glance at a “pile of chairs”. Tells a lot about an obviously well-versed sculptor continuing a century-old narrative. Look. Both eyes.

This is a great work of art. In response to the comments left earlier, great art should evoke something in the viewer or coummunicate something. I’m not a fan of artwork that requires you read something to get something out of the art. Great art should be able to communicate on its own.

Now it’s alright for captions or something that enhances your understanding of art, because the end goal is enlightening the viewer. But if the art requires a caption, then IMHO the artwork by itself isn’t as strong.

With this particular artwork, it’s captivating for many reasons (and I didn’t read what the artist said). It’s up the viewer to determine those reasons. And this artwork is really full of potential. For instance, here’s what I see.

1) Chairs are meant to be occupied by humans
To see these chairs so compacted against one another takes away the space normally occupied by humans. And the chairs are fit in between two buildings, occupying the space normally taken up by architecture. Or one could even argue (as in a previous comment) that these chairs are taking up the space of where humans could be. So there’s a reversal of roles here. The chairs which normally hold humans, are now filling a space that humans normally occupy. So within this interpretation, there’s the meanings of occupying a space, and the meaning of volume.

2) Then there’s the interpretation of color
When you mix together yellow and purple pigments, the result is brown. Even though the colors used here are primarily purple, I still get a feeling of brown. Perhaps it’s the context, but there’s something very brown about this.

3) Then there’s the analysis using feelings
This piece makes you feel overwhelmed and afraid.

4) Yet it’s also intellectually intriguing
It can make one wonder how all these chairs are fitting together. How this was accomplished.

My point being that this artwork evokes many different ideas and interpretations. It is simply a great work of art.

I posted this artwork on my blog with five more interpretations. You can read them at: http://www.spudart.org/blogs/randomthoughts_comments/4011_0_3_0_C/

[…] biennale in 2003 and included over 1550 chairs stacked between two city buildings. Found via: designspongeonline.com Posted by Dan Filed in […]