The exchange of thoughts on art in the ‘purest’ form is what I find most enjoyable during studio visits. I hear their stories, see their artworks and think for a while about their art- the process is almost childlike for me. When I walked into Martin’s studio and saw his “mature” installation -explained by him- I needed time to decipher this conceptual and minimalist work. A fossil-like moth with broken wings on an industrial vinyl curtain, parts of what appears to be an animal skin hung on a steel rail beside a web, the installation screams contradiction to me. After hearing his stories, I see the installation as an honest, tragic yet poetic depiction of the constant contradiction the artist faces in his daily life. The moth represents an individual who wants to break free yet constrained by the societal construct.
The visit made me think about the status of conceptual art. It is a resistance against the fast and ephemeral society we live in. Conceptual artists ask their audience to think rather than to look, and to understand rather than to follow.
Image from the artist website