Untitled

Maurizio Cattelan
Untitled
2001
59.7 x 85.4 x 47.3 cm
Stainless steel, wood, electric motor, light, bell and computers

Maurizio Cattelan began his career as an artist around 1990, after working in cartoon production and furniture design. Since then, he has produced a wide range of works, including releasing live donkeys and pigeons into exhibition rooms, taping bananas to walls, and selling exhibition spaces to advertising agencies.

In this work, common elevators are elaborately made in miniature sizes. Some people may feel strange or uncomfortable because the elevators look just like those we usually see but are entirely different in size. Perhaps, if you start to think that the elevator can be an artwork for humans but a daily necessity for small animals or doll-sized people, you may start to wonder what an artwork is.

Cattelan's work slightly deviates from normal and everyday life, questioning the viewer on the possibility of an ordinary that is different from the ordinary. Induced by cuteness reminiscent of toys, the fun-ness of the ding! sound and its light mischievousness, the viewer is afforded to step into a different set of possibilities.

(Commentary：Kaoru Inoue / Translation：Emma Tsuji Harrison)