Multiples!

This week started off with a presentation by Brian Gillis. He discussed multiples. Before this week, if I were to be asked what multiples in art were my answer would probably be, “I dunno… something that has copies?” But now I have a real answer! Multiples are pieces of art where the artist makes several of the same things. They can vary slightly in design, but are typically the same thing. I think this is interesting. I hadn’t ever really learned or heard about multiples before, so learning about it now was fun for me. For some people, like Marcel Duchamp, a multiple consists of taking an everyday object, somehow altering it, and then putting it in a gallery. By doing this to an object, a new meaning can be placed behind it.

Justin Novak has created his own multiple, the 21 Century Bunny. All of the bunnies are generally the same with some slight changes differencing them, like color or objects they hold. I would really like one of these bunnies. I enjoy how odd they look. You don’t typically see a bunny with giant eyes. Or one holding a gun for that matter. He takes something that everyone generally knows, like ceramics, and changes it into something new and fun. He has also changed the idea of ceramics with his Disfigurines collection. Ceramic figurines are normally nice, simple people, like angels or shepherds or something. Novak takes this idea of simple beauty and drastically changes it with his disfigurines. They are ceramic people that have some sort of injury or are mutilating themselves in one way or another. At first glance, I didn’t really notice anything special about them. But when I took another look, I realized that the figurine was cutting her skin open with scissors. I then proceeded to hold my wrists for fear of this happening to me. I find it very interesting that he can take something that is considered so precious and turn it into this mutilated object. I imagine that he has a lot of fun with what he does.

Gabriel Orozco is another artist we looked at this week. I bet he has fun with what he does as well. Similar to Novak, Orozco also takes objects that are widely known and changes them into something new and unique. His ping-pong table is a perfect example. He took something that everyone is acquainted with and turned it into something new. The piece is two tables put together with a pond in the space left between them. This looks really fun, and I want to try it so very badly. I enjoyed the video about him placing products in stores in areas where they don’t belong. I have a friend who does this sometimes. The one I remember the most is he balanced a cat food can on a laundry detergent top. I had never before considered this as art, just as something funny to do. I also liked the car that Orozco manipulated. I think it’s interesting that you can look at it from the side and it looks like a regular car, but when you start to move around it, you realize that it is most definitely not a regular car. My boyfriend is 6’ 3”. I really want to see him try to get in this car. Once again, Orozco has taken an everyday object and turned it into something out of the ordinary.

I think dice could probably be considered a multiple. There are so many different types.