Simon Baier

Thomas Hirschhorn

Yasmil Raymond

Marcus Steinweg

Published on the occasion of an exhibition held at the Walker Art Center. Minneapolis, Minn., Feb. 27-May 23, 2010.

Abstract Resistance

Tatiana Cuevas

Stand-Alone

Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal

Josée Bélisle

'Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake' is a monumental installation that would resemble a topsy-turvy reference centre except for the presence of a gigantic cake and with 12 spoons at its core. Modeled after souvenir spoons, they are emblematic of individuals or entities the artist associates with failed utopias: Mies van der Rohe, Rosa Luxemburg, Malevich, Nietzsche, Venice, China, the exhibition of degenerate art held by the Nazis in 1937 and the Chicago Bulls basketball team. In this installation, the artist offers a space for reflection on the an overabundance of information juxtaposed with the urgent question of global hunger. 'Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake', a recent acquisition of the Muse dart contemporain, was shown at the Chicago Art Institute and at the Muse national dart moderne/Centre Pompidou.

Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake

Writings by Thomas Hirschhorn, collected for the first time, trace the development of the artist's ideas and artistic strategies. For the artist Thomas Hirschhorn, writing is a crucial tool at every stage of his artistic practice. From the first sketch of an idea to appeals to potential collaborators, from detailed documentation of projects to post-disassembly analysis, Hirschhorn's writings mark the trajectories of his work. This volume collects Hirschhorn's widely scattered texts, presenting many in English for the first time. In these writings, Hirschhorn discusses the full range of his art, from works on paper to the massive Presence and Production projects in public spaces. “Statements and Letters” address broad themes of aesthetic philosophy, politics, and art historical commitments. “Projects” consider specific artworks or exhibitions. “Interviews” capture the artist in dialogue with Benjamin Buchloh, Jacques Rancière, and others. Throughout, certain continuities emerge: Hirschhorn's commitment to quotidian materials; the centrality of political and economic thinking in his work; and his commitment to art in the public sphere. Taken together, the texts serve to trace the artist's ideas and artistic strategies over the past two decades. Critical Laboratory also reproduces, in color, 33 Ausstellungen im öffentlichen Raum 1998–1989, an out-of-print catalog of Hirschhorn's earliest works in public space.

The Writings of Thomas Hirschhorn

Critical Laboratory

Thomas Hirschhorn

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