CRITICAL STUDIES - artists who deal with the idea of Collecting



Ilya Kabakov collects large numbers of everyday objects and reconfigures them in groups. The way they are classified by type makes it seem informative and purposeful like a factual museum collection, showing how the context of objects can elevate or make them special; if the objects were displayed in the artists home or a domestic space they may be perceived as nothing extraordinary. This shot of his works reminds me of a car-boot sale or second hand shop, I think it questions where we draw the line between trash and treasure, and the way we like to hoard things throughout our lives - an everyday object might have personal meaning or memories attached but from anyone else's perspective it's just a lifeless thing. 


Mike Kelley, More Love Hours Than Can be Repaid

This piece by Mike Kelley is a collaged blanket made up of hand knitted toys and objects gathered from charity shops; I find this piece really powerful because each thing was once handmade as a gift to a loved one and has a story which has since been lost or forgotten. Though the composition seems very random and thrown together, there has still been a transformation from low or popular culture into high art, in the same way that Kabakov's work elevates the ordinary into something that makes us stop and think. It encompasses ideas of nostalgia and sentimentality, making it quite a sad image because the objects are no longer wanted and the children they used to belong to have grown up or moved on - the inevitable passing of youth and innocence is captured in one chaotic space. I think this piece has kind of changed the way I see handmade things in charity shops because now I feel drawn to what their backstory could be and the sense of humanity that they have, and it makes me want to work more with found objects.



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