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SUPPORT ART21: With just over a month left to our campaign, Art21 wants to thank the 59 donors who have shown their support of Art21’s Exclusive series. Together, these donors have raised critical funds that will support new videos that provide a rare backstage view of art making — in this case, following Allan McCollum’s work from conception to presentation, from Maine to New York City. In the next 36 days we need 41 fans to take action in order to reach our goal. Help us out with as little as $1 – join the 100 x 100 Exclusive campaign! And now without further ado, today’s video:
Episode #110: Horace & Noella Varnum in Sedgwick, Maine, describe their experiences working with artist Allan McCollum on the Shapes from Maine (2009) exhibition at Friedrich Petzel Gallery in New York.
Applying strategies of mass production to hand-made objects, Allan McCollum’s labor-intensive practice questions the intrinsic value of the unique work of art. McCollum’s installations—fields of vast numbers of small-scale works, systematically arranged—are the product of many tiny gestures, built up over time. Viewing his work often produces a sublime effect as one slowly realizes that the dizzying array of thousands of identical-looking shapes is, in fact, comprised of subtly different, distinct things. Engaging assistants, scientists, and local craftspeople in his process, McCollum embraces a collaborative and democratic form of creativity.
Allan McCollum is featured in the Season 5 (2009) episode Systems of the Art in the Twenty-First Century television series on PBS. Download-to-own the full episode from iTunes.
VIDEO | Producer: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Susan Dowling. Camera: Richard Kane & Joel Shapiro. Sound: Kenny Weinberg. Editor: Lizzie Donahue & Paulo Padilha. Artwork Courtesy: Allan McCollum. Special Thanks: Horace & Noella Varnum