Misconceivable
2010
Erwin Wurm
It is not entirely clear whether this boat is about to dive enthusiastically into the water, or flinch at the last moment. The title confirms this sense of doubt: “Misconceivable”! The danger of misunderstanding always lurks nearby; in the interpretation of art, but also in everyday life and our dealings with each other.
Details
- Plan number: V03
- Zone: Entanglement
- Title: Misconceivable
- Creator: Erwin Wurm
- Date: 2010
- Material: plastic, wood, metal, laquer
- Acquisition: purchase
- Object number: MID.B.536.A
Erwin Wurm uses recognizable objects and situations, which he allows to deviate slightly from familiar reality. This often results in unexpected and humorous images, but also an undertone of doubt, despair, or powerlessness. In this way, they prompt reflection on the physical and psychological condition of human beings.
You can read this work as an animistic sculpture: the artist has given the boat a soul. Because of its curvature, we even tend to see human qualities in it. The animation of lifeless objects is characteristic of human beings: we constantly project our own way of thinking and being on our surroundings. On objects, trees, animals, etc.
Austrian artist Erwin Wurm works with a variety of media and materials, from classical to contemporary. His humorous work stretches the idea of what sculpture can be. He starts from everyday situations and places people at the center of his oeuvre. From the late 1990s onwards, all this came together in his “One Minute Sculptures,” in which spectators briefly become sculpture by assuming prescribed poses.
From the same artist
Erwin Wurm
This car balances dangerously against a felt-tip pen. The artwork is part of a series in which various objects rest on things that are not really fit for this purpose, such as a sandwich, an orange or a felt-tip pen. The moment of collapse cannot be far away …
Erwin Wurm
This pedestal is there for you. The artist invites you to become a sculpture yourself for 60 seconds. You will find instructions on the four corners of the pedestal: become a dog on your hands and knees, hold your breath and think of (the philosopher) Spinoza, lay your head on the pedestal and stop thinking, put your trousers on your head with your arms through the legs. One minute is just long enough to take a nice photo of it. But at the same time, posing can feel like an eternity.
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