WASHINGTON — If a good tradesman should never blame his tools, then these creators have very few outs.
Sixteen artists participated in an unusual experiment earlier this year, when the Chipstone Foundation and the Milwaukee Art Museum invited them to submit an artistic creation. There were no restrictions on the medium or end product.
There was one important caveat: They could only use one sole tool to create the piece.
British filmmaker Nicole Probert made an explanatory video of the project, where she takes apart the same camera she uses to create the footage. The result is itself one submission, mirroring the contest’s intent of deconstructing a complex element.
Probert suggests the artists begin by asking themselves questions such as: Why did you choose this tool? Where did this tool come from? Are you using it for the task with which it was intended? How do you know when the tool is working correctly? What senses do you use to perceive your tools in the act of making? Does the tool become an extension of your body, something almost invisible? Or on the contrary, is it an agent?
Some artists used more than one device in support of the primary tool. Check out this footage of Jon Prown creating his signature Tree Spoons by hammering small knives, after shaping pieces of wood with wedges and chisels.
Silversmith David Clarke uses the Cannon A134D/U domestic cooker.
“For me it feels very natural moving my work out of the classic silversmithing environment and into the kitchen,” he says in his submission, “and seeing what the possibilities are through critical thinking, and also the possibility of making some mistakes.”
The only control Clarke has with this tool is turning it on, setting the gas gauge and lighting it. He believes traditional silversmith’s tools should be misused and abused to find new approaches to the classic discipline.
Check out how he still finds a “freedom of flexibility”:
An exhibit of their work will be on display in the Milwaukee Art Museum from Dec. 8 through April 1, 2012. For more information on the project, follow this link.
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