Found Object // Objet trouvé
Kurt Schwitters - concept of Merz; “the combination for artistic purposes of all conceivable materials” - considered these materials to be equal with paint.
Displays of found objects for their aesthetic qualities dates back to 16th century - collections of individual enthusiasts were displayed in private ‘cabinets of curiosities’ “Wunderkammer”
1912 Picasso; Still Life with Chair Caning (collaged piece of woven chair into the canvas)
Representation and how to reconcile art’s illusionism with it’s real object status - Objet trouvé was understood to be a raw material used in assemblage in a way that called attention to it’s real material qualities and inherent aesthetic.
Duchamp’s appropriation’s of everyday objects (Readymades)
Surrealism - informed by Freud believed in the ‘efficacy of powerful subconscious associations with objects.
Piero Manzoni; ‘Artist’s shit’ - Claimed he had canned and labelled his own shit - poking fun at the idea that anything touched by an artist can be great art.
Isa Genzken - work made up of things the artist finds on the street and high end pieces of designer furniture.
Haim Steinbach - created a visual language that places everyday goods in arrangements that use repetition and formal contrast to push even further the idea that the artist’s role is to select items and serve them up in unexpected/ meaningful juxtapositions.