I WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF THAT
Re-makes of Contemporary Art
2007
For I WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF THAT, I chose 10 contemporary artist's work that "I wish I had thought of," and attempted to
re-create them. Most pieces, although comprised of simple concepts and materials, proved to be difficult to replicate exactly.
Due to limited resources and lack of precision that all Japanese artists seem to possess, pieces have been re-interpreted and
compromised as necessary. Overall, the re-creation of works has been an exercise in selection as well as artistic practice.
With such a plethora of contemporary art being produced emphasizing large scale excessive materiality and imagery,
finding 10 artists with work delving into subtle cleverness was a curatorial challenge. To re-create the pieces, I in essence had
to place myself in the original artist's shoes, experiencing similar obstacles and triumphs that they may have experienced
while creating their pieces. Because I was re-creating the pieces of these 10 artists in the context of an educational institution,
the intentions of the original artists have been altered completely as well. Furthermore, the dynamic between established artists
and emerging artists in terms of value and artistic touch is being played with as established artists most likely relied on
assistants and other fabricators to complete their pieces. For example, I had to manually blow up the balloons comprising the
After Martin Creed piece one by one, while Creed, to create his much larger Work No. 628: Half the air in a given space, had the
resources to hire assistants as well as use an automated air pump. Thus, the exhibition not only deals with the notion of
appropriation and selection, it also provided a means for me to engage in a personal performance - one where I experienced the
process of creating pieces that only appear simple on the surface.
Artwork Index