Assemblage: Ironing board, 700 steel nails, black velvet fabric, wooden board, an antique Iron, a photograph of "The Night Watch".... Read More
Assemblage: Ironing board, 700 steel nails, black
velvet fabric, wooden board, an antique Iron, a photograph of "The Night
Watch".
The artwork relates to "Cadeau" by Man ray
and to Duchamp's notes (1934) how to select Readymade.
Man Ray created in 1921 his artwork
"Cadeau" – an Iron with a row of nails glued to the bottom.
In my artwork, the nails protruding from
the Ironing board – similar to Man Ray's "Cadeau" - obliterate the
Iron's functionality meanwhile creating a sense of threat, violence and danger
in the supposedly safe and secure home sphere .The contrast between the nails
and the pierced velvet enhance this sensation.
Duchamp's notes in the Green Box
(1934) how to select a Readymade: "Reciprocal Readymade: Use a
Rembrandt as an ironing board". A Reciprocal Readymade is an idea not a
tangible object.
I glued a piece of a photograph copy of
Rembrandt's "The Night Watch", a painting that was mutilated in the
past, on to an old iron I found in Jaffa Flee Market. The original painting was cut to size to fit
the wall of the city palace where it was placed. I also manipulated the
original painting and cut off a peace to fit it to the size of the iron in my
art work.
Merging the ideas of Man Ray and Marcel
Duchamp creates a synergetic interaction.
My artwork name "Reciprocal
couple" alludes to the turn of phrase "Reciprocal Readymade"
coined by Duchamp. The art history anecdote
that the two friends were partners in the Dada movement both in Paris and New
York, were Chess rivals for many years and that the photographs of Marcel Duchamp
as Rrose Sélavy where taken by Man Ray - all played part in my artwork
rational.
My art work was made around the 100
anniversary of the Dada movement; the
"Reciprocal Couple" is an homage to the ideas and greatness of these
artists.
