Jim Lambie

First, I need to acknowledge an amazing chance to hear Trimpin speak to our class last week. Trimpin visited our class and spoke of his childhood, fascination with coo coo clocks, older mechanical music players, and acoustic reproduction. Most insightful, however, was his guest critique of our found object projects. His eagerness to involve kinetics and the natural sound of the object moving is a component to installations that I rarely consider. Projects come alive in Trimpin's head instead of the sedentary, display objects our class created. Hearing Trimpin explain his latest project, a Holocaust memorial that involves controlled dripping water, steam with a projection, and a rolling speaker that recreates a passing train noise. I cannot wait to see the realization of his vision.

Pictured here is the work of Jim Lambie, a Scottish visual artist. Lambie is known for his sculptures using pop culture object like posters and album covers. More visually striking here is Lambie's gallery floor space covers. Using vivid, vibrant colors, Lambie traces the edges of the walls with vinyl tape and continues the pattern, allowing it to expand to the center of the room. This exposes the subtle changes in shape that the walls make in the gallery.

The result is very contrasting to the neutral, formal walls of most of the galleries. The floors have a very, African, tribal look to them because of the many bright colors and sharply changing pattern.

The same can be said about this piece. Labmy calls the floor treatment below with the alternating black and white triangles "shading." This particular exhibit was in the 2005 Turner Prize installation. The black and white triangles evoke a very post modern feel, reminiscent of late 1980's early 90's fashion and architecture just like the now popular La Roux music video for the song "Bulletproof."

The use of black and white contrasted against the primary colors on the floor that at first glimpse appear as reflections are particularly effective. The organic, seemingly "unintentional" shape of the sculpture is juxtaposed on the sharp, straight, floor.