Car Accumulation (Matchbox Cars) 1985

"Car Accumulation (Matchbox Cars)" is a collection of model cars encased in resin by Arman. Looking at this sculpture, I imagine Arman as a kid, maybe not allowed to smash his toy cars together! The cars are suspended, forever frozen, like insects in amber. The wheels gleam; some have lost their paint jobs. I’m interested in how the work becomes about time. You can almost imagine the artist carefully placing each car, thinking about shape and color. It becomes a meditation on modern life, all this transportation, going nowhere, or everywhere at once! I wonder if he was aware of what other artists were doing with seriality and repetition, like Warhol? I see a relationship, but also something more chaotic and personal. I love the texture of the resin, how it catches the light, and how it gives the work this feeling of preservation. It's a very physical piece. It's like Arman is saying something about our culture, but also about his own memories, holding onto the past.