The Blue Vein, Secret Zen Garden, etc. 28 Apr 2006
12 comments Latest by Rugby Fan Steve
A slide show (NY Times) of commisioned pieces from the collection of Ohio art collector Andy Stillpass, “one of America’s most radical and eclectic contemporary-art collectors.” This is what happens if you decide to spend your fortune by having artists run around your place rearranging books, filling drawers, painting the house, etc.
Rob Pruitt’s “Idea No. 22 ‘Fill a desk drawer with gravel and make a secret Zen garden’” (1999):
Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster rearranged a bookshelf to create “The Blue Vein” (1993) and Rirkrit Tiravanija later countered her with “The Red Threat” (1994-96):
Related: There is Nothing Wrong in This Whole Wide World (photos/description) was a 2004 public installation at Adobe Bookshop in San Francisco. The store allowed its 20,000 books to be reclassified by color. McSweeney’s interviewed Chris Cobb, the idea man behind the event. (thx, Stephen)
12 comments so far (Jump to latest)
Cem 28 Apr 06
I love ideas like these.
John Lewis 28 Apr 06
That first Zen Desk Drawer is a wimp out!! Do the entire floor!!
Michael S. 28 Apr 06
I used to arrange my CD’s by color, back when I was bored and didn’t have as many as I do now. It took forever to find anything, but it really transformed the collection into something to look at.
I can’t wait to see pics of the Adobe bookstore!
Javier Cabrera (ClearYourMind) 28 Apr 06
I don’t have enough blue books to do something like that! It’s a really cool idea, I will start looking for books or online articles about little “zen” decoration, it may worth a shot.
Thanks for the slideshow Matt.
Javier Cabrera
Josh B. 28 Apr 06
Ha! When this post appeared in my feed reader yesterday, I came and composed a little post all about Chris Cobb and the Adobe Bookshop, only to find that when I tried to submit my comment that the post wasn’t really “live” yet. I’m glad to see that you got that project into the main post — it is way cool.
LukeP 28 Apr 06
I can picture his kids opening a drawer to find something… “Dad, why is this drawer full of dirt?” Good luck explaining that one!
Ken Rossi : CivilNetizen.com 28 Apr 06
zen garden….. that’s awesome … I have some extra sand in my backyard. Paypal shop will be setup tonight I can start taking orders monday.
Benn 29 Apr 06
I’d love to do that with my vinyl collection, however I’d never find anything.
It would work well, as it has done with the books as most releases are on plain white sleeves.
Benn 29 Apr 06
I’d love to do that with my vinyl collection, however I’d never find anything.
It would work well, as it has done with the books as most releases are on plain white sleeves.
Splashman 30 Apr 06
woo. hoo.
(I’m a card-carrying Philistine.)
TheWeb20Dev 03 May 06
ooo nice.