Sculptural Furniture That Questions Interaction
Human relationships are complex and Michael Beitz is an artist who's sculptural work has been noted over the years to question such social irregularities. Of humorous and playful style, some of Beitz's most noted works include Not Now, Table, Fan House, Roll and Picnic, all of which are relatable objects that have been turned into pieces of sculpture that question both the new object created and the topic subject.
Of meticulous furniture craft and wonderfully creative talent, Beitz works by creating distorted objects - such as folded-over tables, knotted sofas, twisted benches - and each piece is both functional and artistic. Conceptual sentiments, the resulting subverted objects that Beitz creates are highly cultural and serve as a site of awkward social interaction - a space or object that represents a social situation, for example, is probably translated as one of solidarity and alienation. Beitz wants you to question the way you interact.
Beitz explains of his Not Now (2014) installation, "I was concerned with the central ideas of emotional tension, distance, and the inability to communicate when making not now. I have always been interested in psychosomatic relationships and I see this work as an extension of the connection between emotional and physical behaviors." Beitz's Table (2016) has a similar agenda, whereby he explains that "...the ability to have a private conversation is all but lost. The sacred space of privacy may only exist in our own thoughts. I made this table as a place to contemplate that loss and to consider the cyclical trap that we create when our focus is too narrow."
One of SATORI & SCOUT's favourites, Roll (2015) "...was made for Banksy's dismaland in Weston Super-Mare, UK, and combines the picnic table form with an oversized toilet paper roll. The piece offered family and friends a fun place to rest while considering the well-known devastation of human waste polluting the nearby sea." Equally, on a similar theme, Beitz's Picnic (2013) is "...a twisted loop picnic table simultaneously joins and separates its picnickers. This work is meant to be an ornate twist on the commonplace picnic.
On a different agende altogether, Beitz's Fan House (2009) - one of his earliest works - was a "...temporary piece was built outside of buffalo, NY and was a response to the thousands of abandoned homes that still exist in the city." With all of the five sculptures highly creative and definitely mind-changing with regard to standard social interactions, Beitz's work is definitely worth a viewing.
Discover more about these characterful sculptures at MichaelBeitz.com.
Photography credit : MichaelBeitz.com