Floor Show, 1999
There are 5 of these. They evoke the cross-sections of tree trunks that are common in folk, ethnic and regional art and craft, and also in souvenir shops that sell mass-produced and yet handmade objects. They are usually meant to denote things natural, rustic, and organic. Mine are hand-made of "natural" materials, and also highly constructed. The plywood surface is covered with laminated parquet from Home Depot, and the tree bark is real, but glued on.
In keeping with the idea of horizontality and verticality, this one tilts from horizontal to vertical, from the horizontal cross section of the tree trunk, but also from the horizontality of the hardwood floor, to the verticality of the wall that turns the object into quite literally "a slice of nature," ironically tamed and aestheticized in the form of craftsy souvenir.
There are 5 of these. They evoke the cross-sections of tree trunks that are common in folk, ethnic and regional art and craft, and also in souvenir shops that sell mass-produced and yet handmade objects. They are usually meant to denote things natural, rustic, and organic. Mine are hand-made of "natural" materials, and also highly constructed. The plywood surface is covered with laminated parquet from Home Depot, and the tree bark is real, but glued on.
In keeping with the idea of horizontality and verticality, this one tilts from horizontal to vertical, from the horizontal cross section of the tree trunk, but also from the horizontality of the hardwood floor, to the verticality of the wall that turns the object into quite literally "a slice of nature," ironically tamed and aestheticized in the form of craftsy souvenir.
