Art Tour: Dennis Hopper

 

Irwin Weiner ASID - My partner and I went to Vienna several years ago and saw an amazing art exhibit of works by artist/actor Dennis Hopper. We came away astounded that this man could tackle basically any kind of artistic project - not to mention movie acting. His photographs, large-scale paintings, collages, sculptures, and other works had great energy and color sense. And they were beautifully executed. He wasn't a "sprinkle paint on a canvas" kind of guy.

So no surprise when we found this video interview of Hopper, now deceased, talking about his extensive art collection. He began collecting in the 1950s and selected works that "he got," works that added to his understanding of himself and the world, defining and challenging him. I was particularly touched by his reference to only being a "steward" of these works of art, that with our ephemeral humanity, we can only take good care of art as long as we are alive.

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Is Furniture Art?

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Irwin Weiner ASID - Plato talked about the ideal "form" behind the reality of things - and without wigging out on philosophical theory, he talked about how no two tables are alike, but that they each shared a quality which he called "tableness." This Plum TV video goes to the DesignMiami show and asked artists and furniture designers if furniture is art or not. This is the same argument that Plato made. If you have a sofa, but it looks cutting edge and "artistic," is it art or is it furniture? The video says there's a degree of "artness" about some furniture as well as a degree of "sofaness" or utility as a piece of furniture. Dali once made a polished brass chair (see photo above of his Leda Chair). Is it art or furniture? You can definitely sit in it, but an artist made it - so there's a conundrum to mull over!

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