The Deist Artist

I’ve seen a couple examples of Henrik Menné’s recent work, what I’m calling Deist Art, where he sets up a system to create the artwork in the absence of the creator, and I’m intrigued by it on several levels.

ExampleS!:

56L

A ladder, solid glue, heating element, blower and motor

5T

tin, plexiglas, aluminum, iron, engine, machine

114L

dyed glue, aluminum, iron, fan, heating element, engine

And I’m pretty sure he’s behind another piece I saw with conveyor belt and a red wax dispenser, but I can’t find images for the life of me.

SOOooo, I’ve seen process art everywhere and had mixed feelings about it, but this work gives me hope. The products of the process are interesting, and not just in the context of how they were created (which is my beef with a lot of process art). Moreover the implications of this work effects me on a philosophical level. Although this is far from a self sustaining ecosystem, this parallels to the idea that something can be designed and left alone to create itself. Menné did not place every strand of liquefied glue over the ladder in 56L in just the right order, but he did design a machine that creates a sculpture from a basic materials, which builds on itself without continued monitoring. Thus I dub thee Deist Art.

Make sure to record this in the annals of history whoever writes these things down. I said it first! Better yet someone make a wiki, and give me credit.

Besides which Intelligent Design Art is cumbersome, and seems so micromanaging.

More examples:
Galleri Tom Christoffersen

~ by Rebecca Brooks on June 30, 2008.