Various locations, 2003–2007
Curated by Mary Ceruti, Matt Freedman, and Sina Najafi
In 2003, Cabinet—in collaboration with SculptureCenter, NY, and
Independent Curators International, NY—organized “The Paper Sculpture
Show,” a traveling exhibit in which the visitor was
invited to assemble three-dimensional sculptures from flat pages
designed by twenty-nine established and emerging contemporary artists.
Each artist was given up to three pages with the instructions that
assembly should require very basic materials such as tape and rubber
bands. The exhibition opened at SculptureCenter on 7 September 2003 and
subsequently traveled to nineteen additional venues. (See below for
full list.)
Drawing on cultural paradigms as diverse as paper doll books, Mad magazine “fold-ins,” and exploded schematic diagrams, the artists in the “Paper Sculpture Show” (and in its incarnation as a book) offer a visually stunning and conceptually rich hands-on exploration of the diversity of artistic practice today. The exhibition raises complicated and often contradictory issues raised when artists and visitors collaborate to make the works of art: Who are the true creators of these pieces? What is the role of the viewers-builders? Are the pieces in the show works of art or mere reproductions? Where do we locate failure or success in a project like this?
Participating Artists
Janine Antoni, The Art Guys, David Brody, Luca Buvoli, Francis Cape
& Liza Phillips, Minerva Cuevas, Seong Chun, E. V. Day, Nicole
Eisenman, Spencer Finch, Charles Goldman, Rachel Harrison, Stephen
Hendee, Patrick Killoran, Glenn Ligon, Cildo Meireles, Helen Mirra, Aric
Obrosey, Ester Partegas, Paul Ramirez Jonas, Akiko Sakaizumi, David
Shrigley, Eve Sussman, Sarah Sze, Fred Tomaselli, Pablo Vargas Lugo,
Chris Ware, Olav Westphalen, and Allan Wexler (modular exhibit design,
also included in the book)