Patrick Lichty: Made In China: Mao vs. Andy
Artist(s):
Title:
- Made In China: Mao vs. Andy
Exhibition:
Creation Year:
- 2005
Medium:
- Network-based oils
Size:
- 4 inches x 20 inches x 16 inches
Category:
Artist Statement:
The ongoing Made In China series takes a historical event from art history and combines it with elements of networked society and globalization. Made in China was created as art objects suitable for the gallery and museum industry, which has as part of its funding base corporate officers guilty of global outsourcing and resultant wage deflation. This series seeks to maximize the artist’s return on investment (ROI) through utilizing Chinese copyist ateliers to shortcircuit part of the capital outflow to Asia by obtaining retail pricing for the artist, while providing some compensation for workers in other countries. The historical precedent for this work comes from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who gave directions to a sign shop for construction of a work over the phone. In the internet/globalist age, the sign shop is no longer around the corner; it is in any of the developed/developing countries. The artist no longer needs the “school” or atelier model; the atelier is now a just-in-time online reseller of ironic physically repainted digital copies, to be reworked by the artist, mounted and hung. Currently, there are 12 works in this series.
