Craig Garrett, “Thomas Hirschhorn: Philosophical Battery”. Flash Art no. 238, 2004: pg. 90-93
Written by Craig Garrett, the managing editor of Flash Art Magazine and art critic.
Thomas Hirschhorn is a Swiss artist known for his artworks that consist of constructing extremely saturated installations using common materials that he uses to offer a specific message, in and outside of galleries. He received the Marcel Duchamp prize in 2000/2001 and the Joseph Beuys prize in 2004.
Thomas Hirschhorn works within a territory where philosophy informs his artistic practice, his work is based on the notion that philosophy is art and that his work is the affirmation of philosophy as art, and not as an educative device. “I share with Marcus Steinweg (philosopher) the idea that philosophy is art.”[1] Hirschhorn accumulates and appropriates a mass amount of material that he feels acts as affirmation of philosophy as art, effectively communicating his adoration of philosophy as art.
James Turrell’s practice relates to Hirschhorn’s incorporation of philosophy, Turrell’s work “Third Breath” 2005 draws an influence from philosophy and cultural understandings of light. Light is projected from the sky into a darkened room, the phenomena of the outside world becomes the subject of Turrell’s work, making the viewer aware of the connection between the sky and the earth, the way which light moves, the subject of Turrell’s work is the Philosophy of light. “Light as the radiant power of the mind and the fluid of illumination. Romanticism idealised light as a metaphor for the infinite and for visionary power”[2]
Hirschhorn states that he wants to work as a fan in order to speak through his work. I understand his perspective as a practicing artist that is a fan of philosophy with an ambition to communicate and share this through his work. However I don’t see the need to act as a fan to be able to initiate a conversation of philosophy between the work and the audience members. I think that Hirschhorn’s work successfully acts as a means of initiating a conversation between the audience members without necessarily communicate his stance as a fan, rather than an artist dealing with philosophic issues. The work doesn’t just act as a representation of the artist’s adoration for philosophy alone.
