Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Martyrs

Ever since the Michael Landy exhibition opened a month ago (see post), it's been slowly destroying itself. It was inevitable really. The sculptures are made of recycled mechanical innards: cogs, rods, pulleys and levers. The public presses a pedal and off they go, whirring and cranking, prodding and pulling. One of them, Doubting Thomas, is particularly violent. A finger pokes Christ's wound, prompting the spring-mounted torso to rock back and forth and all but topple over. Yesterday the arm fell off. Another work invites you to throw rocks at it, which people do. A lawsuit waiting to happen...
So of course it's beginning to fall apart and we had to fly the installation technician over from London to advise on a much-needed maintenance plan. The problem is: how far should you go in replacing bits? Will new parts deter from the overall aesthetics? Must we consult with the artist every time? Should the public stop throwing rocks? Happily we reached a series of solutions and the show will go on. The saints will carry on beating and patching themselves up. Art eh?

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