I saw the Richard Tuttle show of paintings on styrofoam at Pace Gallery yesterday, and I think most people have strong reactions to the work – they either love it or think it’s absurd. I’m somewhere in-between, as I can appreciate the simplicity and beauty of some of the works as art objects, and have a sense of intrigue over the use of unusual materials, but at other times wonder how much art theory meaning can be attributed to something that looks like it was dashed off in fifteen minutes. There’s no arguing that these art works can be thought-provoking.
And I left the show thinking about them a lot, and the next day was still thinking about them. I really wanted to go out and buy some styrofoam and try to make my own, but then thought I really don’t want to pay for material that is often used in discarded packaging, is it really worth my time and money to do this? And then, as I’m walking around the grounds of my condo complex, thinking about Richard Tuttle styrofoam art, what do I see? A piece of styrofoam wedged under the tire of a parked car! It was a garbage collection day in my neighborhood, and someone’s discarded styrofoam must have blown out and down the street where it landed under this car. I mean, come on … on a walk where I’m literally obsessing over the merits of Tuttle’s styrofoam paintings, I find a piece of styrofoam on the ground? It’s like the universe was conspiring for me to go ahead and make my own styrofoam art!
Sure enough, as I’m cutting the styrofoam to make my own shaped object to paint, I realize there’s more to it than what one might think when first viewing Tuttle’s pieces. I had to cut very carefully in order to maintain clean edges, and then I had the idea to cut my shape in half in order to get a more-interesting texture from the inside edge. I wanted to be inspired by Tuttle’s work, but I didn’t want to copy any one of his directly, but rather find ways to differentiate what I was doing from what I saw at the Pace show.
I decided to paint on the exposed side of the cut I had made, and found that the paint really helped draw attention to the surface quality. The texture forced me to use a lot of paint, as it soaked in and I wanted all of the crevices to be covered in order to show a solid application of color. Another way I wanted to differentiate what I was making from Tuttle’s work (at least the ones I saw in yesterday’s show) was by painting on the edges to bring the depth of the object into play. Tuttle’s paint was all on the surface, and I wanted to include the sides, at least part of them.
As I finished the painting and hung it on the wall next to other works, my initial inclination was to have it as a vertical piece, something about having the straight lines of the sides be upright, but then I changed my mind and decided that an off-balance orientation held more appeal to me. I’d like to think that this doesn’t really look like any of the Richard Tuttle pieces from the exhibition, that I can call it my own that resulted from being inspired to use an unconventional material like styrofoam. What do you think? Share any thoughts you may have in the comments section below.
