Elements of everyday life are brought to the
viewer’s attention via excessive written documentation. Video is the chosen
media as it allows the process of the written documentation to be revealed. The
writing is produced in a repetitive manner to accentuate the recurring nature
of our daily actions and continuous use of everyday objects. The resulting
overlay of writing makes it difficult to read and, like overlooked objects,
could easily be disregarded.
Artists of the Dada movement (in particular Marcel
Duchamp) are a significant source of inspiration whose aim was “to open the
eyes of the people”. [1]
Duchamp’s readymades portray how mundane objects were given a new meaning
through predominantly the new context they were placed in.
Through research into the writings of George
Dickie and Arthur Danto (in particular their Institutional Theory of Art), the
importance of the physical context (namely the gallery context) has become a
key concern. Danto believes “the artworld network is the ground of possibility
for anything to appear as art for us today.” [2]
He also examines the classification of art works and
mere mundane objects. Is it purely the physical context of the gallery that
determines an object becoming a piece of art?
[1] Bénédicte Ramade and Collectif. “Dada, The Exhibition”. (Paris : Centre Pompidou ,
2005).