The Doors Project
The problem for art today is that it is visible - instantly, anytime.
From this starting point, I began to make a series of pieces not instantly available to the viewer. I started making 'doors' to paintings. Vanity doors that had to be opened first. I then realised that this changed the type of image needed inside, which in turn affected the outside. So I dreamed of a show that would only be Doors - closed doors, until the gallery assistant came out from behind the desk and agreed to open them, one by one, peek by peek.
The problem for art today is that it is visible - instantly, anytime.
From this starting point, I began to make a series of pieces not instantly available to the viewer. I started making 'doors' to paintings. Vanity doors that had to be opened first. I then realised that this changed the type of image needed inside, which in turn affected the outside. So I dreamed of a show that would only be Doors - closed doors, until the gallery assistant came out from behind the desk and agreed to open them, one by one, peek by peek.
The Larsen Art Viewer
This is a pay-per-view readymade. It costs either £1 or 1 Euro per view. It works like a piggy bank.
People who once said "If only we had the money to buy one" now have their chance to contribute each and every time they choose to have a look. It seems to me that the end-user financial model currently operating in art benefits very few artists. This is my attempt to provide an alternative model. The biggest problem was finding a sympathetic locking system that would let people "pay to view". |
This particular Art Viewer, constructed in aluminium, measures 73 x 65 x 11 cm. A partial mirror covers the back panel.
The back panel can be changed to plain white, sand, gold leaf, or any other material that adheres to an aluminium surface.Art Viewers can be supplied on demand to fit most sizes of work. Both the lock (an original design by Springboard Design 2012, Bristol) and the box were made for me by Mike Hoddell. |