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Chris Gilmore's Cardboard Art

By bioephemera on August 15, 2009.

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BIKES
cardboard and glue, life size
Chris Gilmore, 2003

I've been unpacking after the move, which means I'm surrounded by piles of cardboard boxes that need to be broken down and recycled. I wish I had Chris Gilmore's skill with cardboard! He sculpts machines and mechanisms, from Fiats to typewriters, entirely in quotidian corrugated cardboard and glue - materials we rarely think about and accord very little respect. Of course, these lightweight mimics don't actually function - but that makes a neat statement too, since so many of the everyday objects he sculpts are primarily functional, not decorative. Isn't a fake typewriter one can easily toss in the air a little bit. . . creepy?

I've started out with his sculpture BIKES because we're on a bike kick here at BioE, but look after the fold for more of his work.

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GLOBES, 2008

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MICROSCOPE, 2007

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FIAT 500, 2002-2004

Via the Rag & Bone Blog.

Tags
Artists & Art
ephemera
Retrotechnology and steampunk

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Pretty impressive, down to the details. This could create a movement in college dorms to create cardboard furniture -- perfect for those with zero disposable income!

These remind me of Ricky Swallow's early works. He made a BMX (bike), a refractor telescope with tripod, and a boom box out of various materials painted white. The point behind these objects is that they are non-functional, fragile, relics of his childhood. In recent years he has turned towards more expensive materials with a greater sense of permanence. This highlights the subjects' transience.
http://rickyswallow.com/collections/view/sculpture

Awesome! I particularly like the microscope...so need one of those for the lab...

I'm loving catching up on all your archives by the way. I hadn't realised how much bioephemera goodness I missed during my latest (insanely busy) project.