Tom Burckhardt has fulfilled his childhood fantasy. He constructed a realistic clubhouse entirely out of cardboard! Ordinarily a painter, he built this artist’s studio using only hot glue and black paint, and pieced together a floor, roof, and elaborate work stations. The installation has been touring art museums as an exhibit since its creation in 2005.
More than just creating an amusing environment, Burckhardt tells a very human story with his piece. He wants viewers to pick up on information about the imaginary – a struggling artist who “inhabits” the studio. The fictional artist is facing a mental block, and his blank canvas sits on an easel, taking center stage in a dose of irony.
“This walk-through environment is full of the clutter and paraphernalia of the modern painter, toiling in romantic obscurity,” Burckhardt says. “A basic lack of ideas has crippled production despite having all the right materials.”
Tom Burckhardt’s website
via [The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Junk Culture]