Head TV

Erwin Wurm
Head TV
2016
47.0 x 170.0 x 30.5 cm
instruction drawing, Danish cabinet and realized by public

Austrian-born Erwin Wurm is known for his humorous ways of using everyday objects, and since 1997 he has been creating the One Minute Sculptures series, which require members of the public to participate by forcing them to take a weird pose.

From the series which consist of precise written directions along with sketches by the artist, the work entitled Head TV comes into existence once the viewers follow the direction of “Lower your head through the hole in the cabinet.”

Inviting their bodies into situations, Wurm throws a question towards the very act of appreciating art itself at the same time as blurs the line between function and futility which we differentiate in everyday life. This act of depriving objects of functions also refers to “art” which values something with no specific function.

He has been internationally presented for myriads of times, including a solo show at the Palais de Tokyo and the Venice Biennale.

(Commentary & Translation: Tomoya Iwata)