If COVID-19 quarantine has left you missing the museums that closed, disappointed by the flatness of viewing artwork from a screen, or lusting after the connection that seeing a work in the third dimension brings, Sartle is here to help. We’ve got a list of artworks that you can recreate at home to make your bedroom into a quarantine art gallery that still strictly follows the CDC guidelines for hygiene.
Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian, 2019 via Wikiart
Recreate Art Basel Miami Beach's most controversial piece by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan -also known for his gold toilet at the Guggenheim entitled America- Comedian. Two were sold for $120,000 in auction on opening day, but can be recreated at home for under a dollar with just a banana and some duct tape. This piece was an Instagram sensation, shutting down the event due to crowds so large that it was deemed unsafe. It was ejected from the event, but not before performance artist David Datuna could peel it off the wall and eat it in an artistic act entitled Hungry Artist.
Kazimir Malevich, Black Square, 1915
To recreate Malevich’s Black Square, all you need is a canvas and lots of black paint. Malevich was known for his abstract, geometric forms depicting the non-objective in the spirit of Suprematism and this was one of his most controversial pieces. Its formlessness is supposed to represent the transcendent realm, independent from nature. If you’re looking for a lower budget fix, feel free to experiment with medium (we recommend Sharpie on printer paper for the most economical variation), but the most important part is its placement.
“0,10 – The Last Futurist Exhibition of Painting”, Petrograd, winter 1915/16. Black Square is placed at the top corner.
To recreate this piece in full transcendental effect, hang it on the top corner of the room. This is the space reserved for religious icons in Russia and its placement is integral for full spiritual appreciation.
Félix González-Torres, Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA), 1991.
Creating a fruit bowl still life would be too basic for quarantine art. Double your food into interior decor with a candy corner and recreate Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA), an installation of a 175-pound pile of candy in which visitors were encouraged to take samples. For the most accurate recreation, go for an assortment of foil-wrapped hard candies. For taste, go for your favorite candy in fun-sized form.
The menu for Identical Lunch, by the Fluxus artist Alison Knowles. Robert Caplin for The New York Times.
Spice up your lunch routine by performing Identical Lunch by Alison Knowles. Knowles, in the spirit of the Fluxus movement, which sought to blur the lines between art and life, made her lunch into a performance art piece. She began eating the same lunch, a tuna sandwich paired with either soup or buttermilk, in the 60s and encouraged others to join in her performance. It has been performed all around the world since 1968, including by fellow Fluxus artist, George Maciunas , who blended his sandwich and buttermilk in a milkshake and drank it.
Bruce Nauman, Dance or Exercise on a Perimeter of a Square, 1967-1968
If you’re looking for a way to get some exercise without ever leaving your house, nay the perimeters of a square, look no further than Bruce Nauman’s Dance or Exercise on a Perimeter of a Square. This workout is great for beginners. It’s low impact, requires no special equipment (except for your tape of choice in which to build the square), and just eight minutes–the perfect thing to start your day whilst waiting for a boiled egg or for coffee to brew.
Try reading some picture books to pass time in social isolation or have some (a lot) of what we presume Lautrec would be having.
Sr. Contributor
Comments (5)
My room is going to be worth so much money!
Very useful post and beautiful pictures!
lol I think I’ll try the banana but any suggestions for how to keep it yellow?
Replace it frequently =)
By all rights, this is one of my favourite websites!