Picture taken on 12/10 2010:
The balloons have deflated and it appears that someone has popped some of the balloons with the provided nail.
Ryan Daniel
Pop Chair, 2010. Inflated air balloons on foam mat board (40" x 31" x 13").
For this piece I was interested in exploring Transience.
Final critique of Ryan’s “Pop Chair,” by Claire Fleckenstein
ReplyDeleteTransience and the “Pop chair” work together well. The temporary nature of the balloons and the fact that one is unsure how balloons will behave over time clearly represent the fact that most things in life exist only for a brief time. The concept of transience pushes viewers to think about the piece in a way they may not usually consider art, which I appreciate.
The piece is unified with the single material and lively because the balloons are all different colors. Visually, there is a sense of unease with the popped pieces and deflating, decomposing remnants of the chair. One wonders if the artist meant for the balloons to pop and deflate, or if that was a mistake.
I think the display doesn’t quite fit the piece though. Balloons are often associated with clowns and balloon animals and children’s birthday parties, and contrasting those associations with the stark black board is abrupt. I think the piece would work better if it were displayed on a table and not on the floor and on a white background as well.
The inclusion of the nail to tempt to viewer to pop the balloons pushes to the piece to an uncomfortable place though. Viewers may wonder if the artist actually meant for them to touch the piece, pop the balloons, and “destroy” the piece, or if the nail is just a symbolic gesture, placed to represent the fragility of balloons.
Formal form is lacking if only because the balloons deflated and are no longer in the original chair shape. That’s also a part of transience though. What is left has the viewer wondering which balloons were which parts of the chair. The popped pieces also bring to mind how they popped, and if they were popped on purpose or by accident.