Thomas Hirschhorn

{{Infobox artist

| name = Thomas Hirschhorn

| image = Thomas Hirschhorn portrait 2019.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Thomas Hirschhorn at the "Robert Walser-Sculpture", Biel/Bienne, 2019 (photo: Enrique Muñoz García)

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age |1957|5|16|df=y}}

| birth_place = Bern, Switzerland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Swiss

| known_for = Sculpture, art in public spaces

| training = Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich

| movement = Contemporary art

| notable_works =

| patrons =

| awards = Marcel Duchamp Prize

}}

Thomas Hirschhorn (born 16 May 1957) is a Swiss artist who lives and works in Paris.Randy Kennedy (June 27, 2013), [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/arts/design/thomas-hirschhorn-picks-bronx-development-as-art-site.html Bringing Art and Change to Bronx] New York Times.

Trained in Zurich and inspired by Joseph Beuys and Andy Warhol, he began as a graphic designer and switched to art in the 1990s. He has become known for using everyday materials in the creation of complex sculptures executed often on a large scale. In addition, he has written extensively on his work and the theories that inform it. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Europe, in the United States, and in South America.

Biography and work

File:Thomas Hirschhorn 2019 Bienne Biel Robert Walser-Sculpture.jpg

=Early years=

From 1978 to 1983, Hirschhorn attended the School of Applied Arts in Zurich, where he was inspired by Beuys and Warhol exhibitions.{{cite book |last1=Hirschhorn |first1=Thomas |title=Critical Laboratory: The Writings of Thomas Hirschhorn; Edited by Lisa Lee and Hal Foster |date=2013 |publisher=The MIT Press |isbn=9780262019255}} In 1983,{{cite book |author= |date= 2021|title= Thomas Hirschhorn: The Purple Line|url= |location= Rome|publisher= MAXXI/Nero Publishing|page=|isbn=978-88-8056-144-6}}, p. 235. Thomas Hirschhorn came to Paris to take part in the 'Grapus'-collective as a graphic designer.

=Art in public space=

In 1991, he left graphic design in favor of being an artist.{{cite book |last1=Braun |first1=Christina |title=Thomas Hirschhorn : A New Political Understanding of Art? |date=2018 |publisher=Dartmouth College Press |isbn=9781512601626}} He then started to create works in space that incorporate sculpted forms, words and phrases, free-standing or wall mounted collages, and video sequences.{{cite book |last1=Rondeau |first1=James |title=Thomas Hirschhorn : Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake, the Art Institute of Chicago : Flugplatz Welt/World Airport, the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago |date=2000 |publisher=Art Institute of Chicago |isbn=0865591814}} He uses common materials such as cardboard, foil, duct tape, magazines, plywood,{{cite book |last1=Rondeau |first1=James |title=Thomas Hirschhorn : Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake, the Art Institute of Chicago : Flugplatz Welt/World Airport, the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago |date=2000 |publisher=Art Institute of Chicago |isbn=0865591814}} and plastic wrap. He describes his choice to use everyday materials in his work as "political" and that he only uses materials that are “universal, economic, inclusive, and don't bear any plus-value”.{{cite web|url = https://bombmagazine.org/articles/thomas-hirschhorn/|title = Thomas Hirschhnorn interviewed by Abraham Cruzvillegas, BOMB, October 1, 2010}}] All of his works are accompanied by written statements that include his observations, motivations and intentions.{{cite book |last1=Braun |first1=Christina |title=Thomas Hirschhorn : A New Political Understanding of Art? |date=2018 |publisher=Dartmouth College Press |isbn=9781512601626}}

Hirschhorn has followed his early commitment to always include the “Other” and address the “non-exclusive audience” Thomas Hirschhorn in {{cite book|last1= Carmine|first1= Giovanni|last2= Fluck|first2= Léa|last3= Gross|first3= Samuel|last4= Moor|first4= Stefano|last5= Raymond|first5= Yasmil|date= 2018|title= Prix Meret Oppenheim 2018|url= |location= Bern|publisher= Federal Office of Culture|page= |isbn= 978-3-9524712-3-4}} "I learned how important it is to aim my work at the "non-exclusive audience", which is the Other, the stranger, the one I don't know, the one not interested in art, the one struggling with other problems" (p.82). in presenting his work in exhibition spaces such as museums and galleries, but also in “public space”: urban settings, sidewalks, vacant lots, and communal grounds of public housing projects.{{cite web |url= https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/arts-visuels/425231/rester-debout-facon-thomas-hirschhorn|title= Rester debout, façon Thomas Hirschhorn|last=Delgado |first= Jérôme|date= 2014-11-29|website= Le Devoir|publisher= |access-date= 2023-05-20|quote=}}

He has said that he is interested in the “hard core of reality”, without illusions, and has displayed a strong commitment to his work and role as an artist.Cruzvillegas, Abraham http://bombsite.com/issues/113/articles/3621 “Thomas Hirschorn” in BOMB Magazine, Fall 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2011 He described working and production as “necessary”, discounting anyone who encourages him to not work hard, and says “I want to be overgiving in my work”. Hirschhorn is also very adamant about not being a political artist, but creates “art in a political way.”{{cite book |last1=Braun |first1=Christina |title=Thomas Hirschhorn : A New Political Understanding of Art? |date=2018 |publisher=Dartmouth College Press |isbn=9781512601626}}

Aiming "to demonstrate the importance that art can have in transforming life",Thomas Hirschhorn in « Note d'attention, février 2003 », in Musée Précaire Albinet, quartier du Landy, Aubervilliers, 2004, Aubervilliers, éditions Xavier Barral - Les Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers, 2005 {{ISBN|2-915150-03-6}} he created in 2004 the Musée précaire Albinet in Aubervilliers, France, where he presented for two months original artworks from the Musée national d'Art moderne and the Fonds national d'art contemporain. The artworks presented included modern art icons such as Bicycle Wheel by Marcel Duchamp, and works by Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, Salvador Dalí, Josef Beuys, Andy Warhol, Le Corbusier, and Fernand Léger.{{cite web |url= https://www.letemps.ch/culture/hirschhorn-frappe-banlieue|title= Hirschhorn frappe en banlieue |last= Wolf|first= Laurent|date= 2005-12-03|website= Le Temps|publisher= |access-date= 2023-05-22|quote=}} Located in the public space at the foot of a building bar, in a popular suburb of Paris, the project was an almost unprecedented attempt to bring museum art to underprivileged populations in their own space.Musée Précaire Albinet, quartier du Landy, Aubervilliers, 2004, Aubervilliers, éditions Xavier Barral - Les Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers, 2005 {{ISBN|2-915150-03-6}} The presentation of the works was complemented by numerous workshops, discussions and activities organised with the local population.{{cite web |url= https://www.leparisien.fr/seine-saint-denis-93/une-folle-aventure-21-12-2005-2006583261.php|title= Une folle aventure|author= |date= 2005-12-21|website= Le Parisien|publisher= |access-date= 2023-05-22|quote=}}

Through his experience of working in public space, Hirschhorn has developed his own guidelines of “Presence and Production” in being present and producing on location during the full course of a project in public space.Thomas Hirschhorn in « Conversation: Presupposition of the equality of intelligences and love of the infinitude of thought: an electronic conversation between Thomas Hirschhorn and Jacques Rancière », in {{cite book |last1=Hirschhorn |first1=Thomas |title=Critical Laboratory: The Writings of Thomas Hirschhorn; Edited by Lisa Lee and Hal Foster |date=2013 |publisher=The MIT Press |isbn=9780262019255}}, p. 374. “To be ‘present’ and to ‘produce’ means to make a physical statement, here and now. I believe that only through presence — my presence — and only through production — my production — can my work have an impact in public space or at a public location.” Other ‘Presence and Production’ projects besides the Musée Précaire Albinet include Bataille Monument (Kassel, 2002), The Bijlmer Spinoza Festival (Amsterdam, 2009), Gramsci Monument (New York, 2013), Flamme éternelle (Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2014), What I can learn from you. What you can learn from me (Critical Workshop) (Remai Modern, Saskatoon 2018), and the Robert Walser-Sculpture (Fondation Exposition Suisse de Sculpture, Biel, 2019).

Since early 1990s, Thomas Hirschhorn has created more than seventy works in public space. {{cite book|last1= Carmine|first1= Giovanni|last2= Fluck|first2= Léa|last3= Gross|first3= Samuel|last4= Moor|first4= Stefano|last5= Raymond|first5= Yasmil|date= 2018|title= Prix Meret Oppenheim 2018|url= |location= Bern|publisher= Federal Office of Culture|page= |isbn= 978-3-9524712-3-4}}, p. 82.

=Art and philosophy=

Thomas Hirschhorn has dedicated works to writers, philosophers, artists he loves, in the form of altars, kiosks, maps, monuments or sculptures. In 1999 he initiated a series of “monuments” dedicated to major writers and thinkers: the Spinoza Monument (Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1999), followed by Deleuze Monument (Avignon, France, 2000) and Bataille Monument. From the beginning, the monuments have been planned and constructed in housing projects occupied mostly by the poor and working class, with their agreement and help.

In 2013, Gramsci Monument, tribute to the Italian political theorist and Marxist Antonio Gramsci, was the fourth and last monument, and the first project that Hirschhorn built in the United States. It was a site-specific, participatory sculpture at the Forest Houses complex in the Bronx, New York.{{cite web |title=Thomas Hirschhorn: 'Gramsci Monument' (Short) |url=https://art21.org/watch/extended-play/thomas-hirschhorn-gramsci-monument-short/ |website=Art21 |access-date=17 February 2023}} This serie of works is based on Hirschhorn's will “to establish a new definition of monument, to provoke encounters, to create an event. [...] My love for Antonio Gramsci is the love of philosophy, the love of the infinitude of thought. It is a question of sharing this, affirming it, defending it, and giving it form.” {{cite web |url= https://www.diaart.org/about/press/dia-art-foundation-presents-thomas-hirschhorns-gramsci-monument-from-july-1september-15-2013/type/text|title= Dia Art Foundation presents Thomas Hirschhorn’s Gramsci Monument from July 1–September 15, 2013|author= |date= 2013-04-30|website= Dia Art|publisher= |access-date= 2023-05-22|quote=}}

In 2000, Hirschhorn exhibited Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake at the Art Institute of Chicago to complement the exhibit at The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Flugplatz Welt/World Airport. The 12 Jumbo Spoons are memorials to individuals that he associates with failed utopian ideals. The Big Cake represents excess and violence. World Airport (1999), a clutter of cellophane, tape, partitions, lighting strands, tarmac, televisions, planes, cars, and luggage, represented the artists inability to comprehend the world. {{cite book |last1=Rondeau |first1=James |title=Thomas Hirschhorn : Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake, the Art Institute of Chicago : Flugplatz Welt/World Airport, the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago |date=2000 |publisher=Art Institute of Chicago |isbn=0865591814}}

For his piece Cavemanman (2002), he transformed a gallery space into a cave using wood, cardboard, tape, neon tubes, and books, and put various philosophical and pop culture symbols throughout it.{{cite news|last = Kimmelman | first = Michael|authorlink = Michael Kimmelman| title = ART IN REVIEW; Thomas Hirschhorn -- 'Cavemanman' |date = 2002-11-15 |accessdate=2008-08-19 |url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E6D61430F936A25752C1A9649C8B63&fta=y |work = New York Times}}

He presented a lecture as part of the "Image & Text: Writing Off The Page" lecture series through the Visiting Artists Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Spring, 2006.[https://www.saic.edu/visiting-artists-program/events/thomas-hirschhorn Image & Text: Writing Off The Page. School of the Art Institute of Chicago]

Bachmann Altar.JPG|Ingeborg Bachmann Altar, Berlin Alexanderplatz station (2006).

Thomas hirschhorn, break-thorugh (I) (II), 2016, 01 (cr prato).jpg|Break-Through, Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, 2016.

La Robert Walser-Sculpture 2019 à Bienne.jpg|Robert Walser-Sculpture, 2019, Bienne.

Exhibitions

Since his first solo show in 1986 (Bar Floréal, Paris), Thomas Hirschhorn has had solo exhibitions at international venues, including the Art Institute of Chicago (1998);{{cite web |url= https://www.diaart.org/about/press/dia-art-foundation-presents-thomas-hirschhorns-gramsci-monument-from-july-1september-15-2013/type/text|title= Dia Art Foundation presents Thomas Hirschhorn’s Gramsci Monument from July 1–September 15, 2013|author= |date= 2013-04-30|website= Dia Art Foundation|publisher= |access-date= 2023-05-26|quote=}} Kunsthalle, Bern (1998);{{cite news |last= J.|first= E.|date= January 1998|title= Thomas Hirschhorn, Kunsthalle Bern|url= |work= ArtForum, n°5|location= |access-date=}} and Remai Modern, Saskatoon (2018).{{cite web |url= https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/thomas-hirschhorn-remai-modern-saskatoon-canada-9809/|title= Thomas Hirschhorn at Remai Modern, Saskatoon, Canada|author= |date= 2018-02-13|website= ARTnews|publisher= |access-date=2023-05-27|quote=}}

In the summer of 2009, his work Cavemanman was recreated for the exhibition Walking in my Mind at London's Hayward Gallery.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090710181954/http://walkinginmymind.southbankcentre.co.uk/html/artists/view/thomas Hayward Gallery "Walking in my mind, Adventure into the artist's imagination"] Cavemanman was recreated once again in 2022 at the exhibition Dream On by NEON showcasing works from the D.Daskalopoulos Collection Gift at the former Public Tobacco Factory of Athens, Greece.{{Cite web |last=Mattei |first=Shanti Escalante-De |date=2022-06-10 |title=Businessman Dimitris Daskalopoulos's World-Class Collection Gets a Goodbye Tour in Athens |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/dimitris-daskalopoulos-neon-athens-collection-1234631024/ |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}

Collections

File:Thomas Hirschhorn, Bernard Fibicher, Swiss Army Knife.jpg, Lausanne, in the presence of its director Bernard Fibicher, on the occasion of the work's integration into the museum's permanent collection, in 2019.]]

Hirschhorn's works are held in collections worldwide, among which the Art Institute of Chicago;[https://www.artic.edu/artists/86959/thomas-hirschhorn Artist page on the institution website.] Centro de Arte Contemporanea Inhotim, Brumadinho;[https://www.artforum.com/uploads/guide.003/id08635/press_release.pdf South London Gallery exhibition's presentation] Colección Jumex, Mexico;[https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/42517/uses-of-the-image-photography-film-and-video-in-the-jumex-collection/ Uses of the Image: Photography, Film and Video in The Jumex Collection] Dia Art Foundation, New York;[https://diaart.org/collection/artist-a-to-z/hirschhorn-thomas Artist page on the institution website.] K21, Düsseldorf;[https://www.sieshoeke.com/exhibitions/claudia-wieser-intensif-station-2010 Intensif-Station - 26 Künstlerräume im K21] Kunsthalle Mannheim;[https://www.kuma.art/en/sculpture-installation-new-media Sculpture, Installation, New Media] Musée national d'Art moderne - Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Museum of Modern Art, New York;[http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A8276&page_number=1&template_id=6&sort_order=1 The Museum Of Modern Art - The Collection], moma.org Philadelphia Museum of Art; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munchen; Tate Modern, London;[http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=6254 Tate - Art & artists], tate.org.uk Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.[http://collections.walkerart.org/item/agent/1955 Walker Art Center - Collections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930134454/http://collections.walkerart.org/item/agent/1955 |date=2011-09-30 }}, collections.walkerart.org

Awards

Hirschhorn received the Preis für Junge Schweizer Kunst (1999), [https://www.ensa-bourges.fr/index.php/en/12-action-culturelle/conferences/7698-conference-de-thomas-hirschhorn Conférence de Thomas Hirschhorn] the Marcel Duchamp Prize (2000), the Rolandpreis für Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (2003), the Joseph Beuys Prize (2004), the Kurt Schwitters Prize (2011), and the Meret Oppenheim Prize (2018).{{cite web |url= https://www.connaissancedesarts.com/depeches-art/sylvie-fleury-thomas-hirschhorn-et-luigi-snozzi-laureats-du-prix-meret-oppenheim-2018-1189286/|title= Sylvie Fleury, Thomas Hirschhorn et Luigi Snozzi, lauréats du Prix Meret Oppenheim 2018|last= Dubois|first= Caroline|date=2018-02-26|website= Connaissance des Arts|publisher=|access-date=2023-05-17|quote=}} In June 2011, he represented Switzerland at the Venice Biennale.{{cite web |url= https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/pauline-boudry-renate-lorenz-will-represent-switzerland-2019-venice-biennale-10468/|title= Pauline Boudry/Renate Lorenz Will Represent Switzerland at the 2019 Venice Biennale|last= Greenberger|first= Alex|date= 2018-06-11|website= ARTnews|publisher= |access-date= 2023-05-17|quote=Past artists to represent Switzerland at the Venice Biennale include Carol Bove and Hubbard/Birchler (2017), Pamela Rosenkranz (2015), Valentin Carron (2013), and Thomas Hirschhorn (2011).}}

Hirschhorn was part of the jury which selected Gaëlle Choisne as winner of the Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2024.[https://www.adiaf.com/le-jury-de-la-24eme-edition-du-prix-marcel-duchamp/ Le jury de la 24ème édition du Prix Marcel Duchamp] Association pour la Diffusion Internationale de l'Art Français (ADIAF), press release of 14 October 2024.

Bibliography

Jochen Poetter (dir.), Marcus Steinweg, Thomas Hirschhorn. Rolex etc., Freundlichs "Aufstieg" und Skulptur-Sortier-Station-Dokumentation, Stuttgart, Museum Ludwig Koln, 1998 {{ISBN|3893224300}}.
{{cite book |last1=Rondeau |first1=James |title=Thomas Hirschhorn : Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake, the Art Institute of Chicago : Flugplatz Welt/World Airport, the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago |date=2000 |publisher=Art Institute of Chicago |isbn=0865591814}}
{{cite book |last1= Buchloh|first1= Benjamin H. D.|author-link1= Benjamin H. D. Buchloh|last2= Gingeras|first2= Alison M.|author-link2= Alison M. Gingeras|last3= Basualdo|first3= Carlos|author-link3= Carlos Basualdo|date= 2004|title= Thomas Hirschhorn|url= |location= London|publisher= Phaidon Press|page= |isbn=07148 42737}}
{{cite book |last1= Bishop|first1= Claire|author-link1= Claire Bishop|last2= Foster|first2= Hal|author-link2= Hal Foster|last3= Raymond|first3= Yasmil|author-link3= Yasmil Raymond|date= 2011|title= Thomas Hirschhorn: Establishing a Critical Corpus|url= |location= Zurich|publisher= JRP-Ringier/Les Presses du réel|page= |isbn=978-3-03764-185-9}}
{{cite book|last1= Lee|first1= Lisa|author-link1= |last2= Foster|first2= Hal|author-link2= |date= 2013|title= Critical Laboratory: The Writings of Thomas Hirschhorn|url= |location= Cambridge|publisher= MIT Press|page= |isbn=}}
{{cite book |last=Dezeuze|first= Anna|author-link= |date= 2014|title= Thomas Hirschhorn: Deleuze Monument|url= |location=London|publisher= Afterall Books|page= |isbn=978-1-84638-143-0}}
{{cite book|last1= Carmine|first1= Giovanni|last2= Fluck|first2= Léa|last3= Gross|first3= Samuel|last4= Moor|first4= Stefano|last5= Raymond|first5= Yasmil|date= 2018|title= Prix Meret Oppenheim 2018|url= |location= Bern|publisher= Federal Office of Culture|page= |isbn= 978-3-9524712-3-4}}
{{cite book |last1=Braun |first1=Christina |title=Thomas Hirschhorn : A New Political Understanding of Art? |date=2018 |publisher=Dartmouth College Press |isbn=9781512601626}}