STRUCTURE_001
"Ten Bullets for WSJ." (2011). TOM SACHS; "TEN BULLETS FOR WSJ." (2011), KRINK, GRAPHITE, PHOTOCOPY, KAPTON TAPE AND SCOTCH TAPE ON PAPER, 14.25" X 16"
I wasn’t always aware of Tom Sachs’ work. I sort of fell into it upon seeing the exhibition “Space Program” which occurred in 2007 at Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles. Sachs has made a true cult out of cargo cult.
But the output isn’t the only part of the art. Sachs has created a process that itself is a work of art. One that aligns with my ideals for process and one I grapple with when working on projects with or in the vicinity of others.
NASA Knife (2007), TOM SACHS; SPYDERCO DELICA 4 KNIFE, LG OPEN 7-1/8″, LG CLOSED 4-1/4″
When I first saw Sachs’ customized Spyderco Delica 4 NASA knives they immediately touched a part of me. The concepts behind the art and the process simply fit in my understanding of working and creating.
I like to be meticulous in word and creation. I like to live in organization so that I can jump on to creation at a moments notice. I like to show where I fucked up and how I can learn to be better at it. The mistakes make up the humanity. Without it, precision becomes the norm and the mundane.
There’s a David Lynch quote from a TIME Magazine piece about him in October 1990.
“My Father’s friend Toby told me that in order to get one hour of good painting done, you need four hours of uninterrupted time. You don’t just ‘start painting’. You have to sit for a while and get some sort of mental idea in order to go and make the right moves.”
I liked this idea but I’m calling bullshit on it. Set up so you can go at any moment. Minimize the time to completion. Make the idea. Set your process. Refine later or not at all. Simply complete.
Work within a set of rules and move forward.