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Sunday, January 25, 2015

Jonathan Seliger - "Fresh," 2001 - A Trompe L'oeil Sculpture Of A Table Talk Pie


Fresh, 2001; Mixed media sculpture; A trompe l'oeil version of a "Table Talk" pie; Numbered 7/75, signed Seliger and dated 2001 in pencil on the box under-flap; 3-D sculpture; Published by Dieu Donne Papermill Inc.; Size - Box: 5 1/4 x 4 1/4" x 1 1/2"; Pie in tin: 4" diameter by 1" high


Jonathan Seliger is known for his meticulous reproductions/interpretations of mass produced objects, with particular attention paid to everyday packing containers.  Seliger's artistic use of language is apparent in the titles he choses for his works, and he draws inspiration from mundane and disposable pop imagery of every day life.  He takes the Hermes bags from Fifth Avenue and the Table Talk boxes from the shelves of the local grocery store and places them together in the realm of high art.  This piece, a mass produced, shelf life limited small pie; has been cleverly titled "Fresh".


Close up of the number, signature, and the date.

"Fresh," is a trompe l'oeil version of a "Table Talk" pie and is an edition from Dieu Donne Papermill Inc.  Numbered 7/75, signed Seliger and dated 2001 in pencil on the box under-flap.  The list of materials that have been used to create this work is impressive:

Box: silkscreen on glass-dried cotton linter paper, mylar window, Gudy-O adhesive.
Pie: 2nd cut cotton linters, burnt siena pigment, methyl cellulose, Jade glue, gloss acrylic medium.
Tin: pigmented cotton rag paper, Jade glue, aluminum powder, methyl cellulose, spray varnish.  Sticker: silkscreen on cotton rag/cotton linter combination paper.

Taking liberties both in design and color, Seliger worked cut and paste style from an original "Table Talk" box.  The time and resources need to create this limited edition is impressive, and below is the description of the process used to create "Fresh," 2001:

The mocked up package design was laid out in Photoshop, shot and printed as a 4-color silkscreen on a smooth, glass-dried cotton linter paper and over-printed with a transparent, flat layer for sheen.  The boxes were hand-cut and assembled with Gudy-o, double-face, archival adhesive.  The pie was cast into a 2-part hydrocal plaster mold that was painted with a mixture of burnt siena pigment and methl cellulose to lend a burnt look.  The doughy colored pulp was cast into the mold and sponged by hand.  When dry, the two-part cast was assembled with Jade glue and painted with the same mixture of pigment and methyl cellulose and finished off with a gloss acrylic medium coat on the top of the pie.  For the "aluminum" tins, freshly-pressed, silver pigmented cotton rag sheets were cast into aluminum tin forms, covered with cotton cloth and weighted down with sand to minimize shrinkage and maximized detail.  When dry, the paper was cut off the tin, and edges were trimmed and glued with Jade glue on the underside.  A mixture of aluminum powder and methyl cellulose was then painted onto each "tin" and finished with 2 coats of spray varnish.  Finally the pies were placed in "aluminum" tins and fit into assembled boxes.


Individual items photographed as a group.

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