One conceptual artist who caught my attention in class was Fred Wilson. He was born in the Bronx and described himself as of Africa, Native American, European and Amerindian decent. This relates to his work because he feels that everyone is related and connected as he portrays in some of his pieces.
A quote that he said that I found compelling was, “when you start doing what you really believe in, that’s when you start to do your best work”. After Wilson receives a BFA from Suny Purchase in 1976, where he was the only black student, he said that he longer had the desire to make things with his hands. He said, “I get everything that satisfies my soul,” he says, “from bringing together objects that are in the world, manipulating them, working with spatial arrangements, and having things presented in the way I want to see them.” Fred Wilson has a distinctive and talented way of looking at objects and creating art out of them.
Wilson examines, questions, and deconstructs the traditional display of art and artifacts in museums. He uses new wall labels, sounds, lighting, and non-traditional pairings of objects, to lead viewers to recognize that changes in context create changes in meaning. One example of his work is, for his installation at the 2003 Venice Biennale he employed a tourist to pretend to be an African street vendor selling fake designer bags - in fact his own designs. He also incorporated “blackamoors”, sculptures of black people in the role of servants, into the show. Such figures were often used as stands for lights. Wilson placed his wooden blackamoors carrying acetylene torches and fire extinguishers. He noted that such figures are so common in Venice that few people notice them, stating, "they are in hotels everywhere in Venice...which is great, because all of a sudden you see them everywhere. I wanted it to be visible, this whole world which sort of just blew up for me." Overall, Wilson’s unique vision of art produces installations and art that is very appealing.
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