© Martin Boyce
Untitled (after Rietveld)
2000
- Scottish Art
In this work Boyce critiques modernism through his reinterpretation of the Dutch architect and furniture designer, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld’s revolutionary ‘Hanging Lamp’. Rietveld used standard Philips tubular incandescent bulbs and fittings and simply hung them from the ceiling using stock electric wiring. The vertical and horizontal bulbs were hung parallel to each other to form, in effect, an abstract light sculpture. Boyce has hung three fluorescent tubes from the ceiling, but instead of small elegant tubes and fittings, these are the sort one finds in basic office accommodation. The metal chain hanging down from the vertical tube suggests that the fitting has broken and that no-one could be bothered to fix it.
