Pedestal for One Minute Sculptures 32

Collection Middelheim Museum, AntwerpSammlung Middelheimmuseum, Antwerpen

Erwin Wurm broadens the traditional definition of sculpture and lends shape in his three-dimensional works to everyday themes and social interactions. Since the 1990s he has let the spectator become the actor, and indeed the sculpture, in his world-famous and much imitated “One Minute Sculptures”, in which he creates an interface between contemporary art, performance and daily life. His “Pedestal for One Minute Sculptures“, located in the Kurpark, consists of a large concrete plinth with stainless steel plates at its corners. These plates are engraved with quirky instructions in the form of drawings and texts: visitors are asked to get down on all fours like a dog for 60 seconds, to lie down and think of nothing, to stand on the podium with their trousers over their head, or to sit down and think of Spinoza. Wurm imagines situations that make us smile but also reflect, that seem embarrassing, trigger fears or breach social taboos – and confront viewers with their own personal boundaries. “I use humour as a weapon, too, insofar as I show everyday life from another perspective,” explains the artist, who with his interactive works at the same time subverts all claim to aesthetic perfection.