I was invited to use lemons to make a work in Time Square. After submitting
the draft of the work, it was not allowed to show there. It might be a
case of art censorship. The discussion of the event is in inmedia
(in Chinese):
The artist statement:
"Ling Meng"
MAN Chingying Phoebe
Lemon, carton
2005
As Guy DEBORD in The Society of the Spectacle said, "The Spectacle
is the moment when the commodity has attained the total occupation of
social life. The relation to the commodity is not only visible, but one
no longer sees anything but it: the world one sees is its world."
Our world is greatly commodification. Advertisement everywhere affects
our way of seeing things. Commodity sometimes defined one's value and
one's relationship with others. It is hard not to be a material girl or
boy.
Is it a problem? Are we all slaves of money and commodity? It might not
be a problem if we can have the control of our own lives and have our
modes of consumption and believe that money is not everything and we would
not buy anything that is useless.
Andy Warhol is one of the interesting examples. He said he loved shopping
and put everyday product like Campbells' soup, Brillo (image left) as
art. I would like to extend his work by using carton as art and put some
lemon favour in it. (image right) Audience will read a notice on the art
work which said, " Join the creation. Individualize product. Please
replace the lemons with your own stuff." The work is interactive
and the audience can keep on changing the carton by replacing the lemons
with their own creation. It can be messy and it is post-modern.
Image left:
Andy Warhol, "Brillo Boxes," 1969, 45 boxes/silk- screen on
plywood, 20 x 20 x 17" each.
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