Lucas Ihlein writes:
Just thought to let you and your dear readers know that we’ve been doing a re-enactment of allan kaprow’s wonderful “push and pull – a furniture comedy for hans hoffman” (1963) down at locksmith project space. it’s the first time this work has been staged in australia. the project will finish this saturday. all the details, including some great timelapse films and panorama photos, are at our website: Push and Pull – cheers Lucas Ihlein, Nick Keys and Astrid L’Orang.
Caption: This panorama (click on picture to see detail) has been sutured together by Pat Armstrong from photos taken by Tom Spiers on Saturday (Day Five). This composition of the room was the result of Pat Armstrong’s suggestion that we should organise the room in a colour spectrum. Apart from the opening night this was the single biggest burst of energy and activity Push and Pull Redfern has seen thus far.
Sounds exciting, but what is the project? The project info explains:
Push and Pull: A Furniture Comedy for Hans Hofmann(1963) is a participatory installation in which visitors arrange and re-arrange domestic objects and junk. The work was originally conceived as a parody of Allan Kaprow’s painting teacher, Hans Hoffman, who often used the phrase “push and pull” to describe the dynamics involved in two dimensional composition. Kaprow expanded Hoffman’s concept of compositional strategy, moving it beyond the canvas and into social space.
Participants in “Push and Pull” plan and implement alterations to the gallery space, co-operating or competing with each other in an ever-evolving furniture dance. “Push and Pull” is a microcosm of the tensions involved in all spatial negotiations in urban environments.
We are excited to present this piece, for the first time ever in Australia, thanks to Allan Kaprow’s Estate.
The show runs until Saturday at Locksmith Project Space, 6 Botany Road Alexandria/Redfern Sydney, Australia until June 13, Thurs-Sat 1-6pm
