What is a found object ?

An important word that got overlooked a few columns ago while talking of Fluxus, and Pop Art was the 8216;found object8217;.

An important word that got overlooked a few columns ago while talking of Fluxus, and Pop Art was the 8216;found object8217;. Arthur Mendes, a fellow gallery trawler, once asked what exactly was the point and purpose of a found object and why was it called thus. To explain it the dictionary way, a found object is something that the artist or musician stumbles upon, but finds in it artistic possibilities.

Unlike objects that are created by the artist, a found object already exists for some other utilitarian purpose. Like Andy Warhol8217;s Brillo boxes or Campbell soup cans. In the Indian context, artist Atul Dodiya often works with found objects, and places them in a cabinet, as a display. The object usually is a metaphor hinting at a meaning other than its literal one. For example, in the case of the Brillo boxes the objects were an entry point into a debate about consumerist, capitalist America.

Or in the case where Dodiya uses old bones and prosthetics he is referring to the state of the nation. Another famous example is Dadaist Marcel Duchamp8217;s Fountain. The artist found a urinal, turned it upside down, signed it and called it art.

The found object can also function as a prop, almost like a Hitchcockian device that gives the viewer a clue. Like in the case of artist Sudarshan Shetty8217;s installations. Found objects like old gramophones, a set of old scissors and an old bath tub, were assembled to make a macabre statement about the futility of entertainment.

In some cases, the object may hold a sentimental value and be displayed as an object of nostalgia, as when Himanshu Shetty used a collection of old school-books to talk about his childhood and make a larger statement on education of children. The point, however, of the found object is that it should be found and not looked for. In many instances, the search for these objects is too deliberate and it changes the nature of the 8216;found8217; status of the object.

Demystify art, e-mail georgina.maddoxexpressindia.com