Jeff Carter: Fixtures
Photo from jeff-carter.net
Title:
- Fixtures
Artist(s) and People Involved:
Exhibiting Artist(s):
Symposium:
- ISEA97: Eighth International Symposium on Electronic Art
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More artworks from ISEA97:
Artist Statement:
Fixtures consists of a series of 6 Plexiglas display stands, either wall-mounted or freestanding, the shape of the stand suggesting a missing object or artifact. Each stand has a small electronic device attached, which generates light, sound or movement. The devices are small and self-contained, yet announce themselves discreetly with subtle, absurd actions. The display stands included in Fixtures are designed to refer to specific objects from my collection of Asian “tourist” art and artifacts, including puppets, masks, books and clothing. The fixtures are based on examples found in the Art Institute of Chicago. Such fixtures are typically used to support fragile art and artifacts in a museum display. Of particular interest are those which are custom built to accommodate a specific piece. Generally fabricated from Plexiglas, wood or metal, they are designed to be virtually invisible to the museum visitor.
The concept of invisibility is central to this work, illustrated by bringing peripheral structures to the center. The formal relationship between the fixture and its electronic apparatus is challenging, as the fixture does not function as a display structure for this device. Rather, the device appears to have irrelevantly attached itself. This dialogue is further developed through an implied relationship between the electronic event and the”missing” museum artifact.
