#104 2012

Kaloust Guedel’s #104 is an artwork constructed from found materials: newsprint, tape, and what looks like shiny candy wrappers. The techniques involved in making the artwork are deceptively simple. Cutting, folding, and adhering, a process of assemblage which gives the sculpture its irregular form. Consider the amount of time it must have taken to give these ephemeral materials stability and form. The layered appearance of the work is important; both literally in its construction, and as a metaphor for the accumulation of media, culture, and waste that defines contemporary life. The artist seems to be suggesting that value can be found in unexpected places, transforming the detritus of everyday life into something precious, by laboriously and lovingly making something from what others have thrown away. This invites us to consider how materials, making, and context intersect to challenge our notions of high and low, and how they may be perceived as art.