Oscar Tauzon

Oscar Tuazon - I think of this world as a blank sheet of paper (laminated safety glass) 2010

 

 Oscar Tuazon - I think of this world as a blank sheet of paper (detail) (laminated safety glass) 2010

i give artist lead tours at the MCA and as of recently i have been starting with the gallery that contains Oscar Tauzon's (pronounced TOO-i-zon) work. on a sheet of torn paper, i ask the students to list some of their immediate responses as well as the observations and connotations that they have after viewing the work for a few minutes. i like to start with this gallery of work because it is really affective - and it is hard not to have a response. some of the responses are:

dark, broken, sketchy, sad, gloomy, terrifying, destroyed, ruins, scary, depressing, angry, crime scene, warehouse, construction site, horror movie, fighting, alley, bomb, destruction, disaster.

Oscar Tuazon - I gave my name to it (steel plate and fluorescent lamps) 2010

based on the group's observations, we often end up talking about disasters. Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Japan, earthquake in Haiti, 9/11, and other references are the norm. occasionally we touch on my response to this this work: that i see these works as a physical manifestation of our (my) fear of Armageddon. to me, it seems to speak to the faults and ephemeral nature of the world we have constructed for ourselves. nothing seems strong, sturdy, permanent, or even enough. walls crumble, windows shatter, the lights fall and go out, and our attempts to stop these events will never be enough. in Tauzon's work i see the global-warming-based fear that has been keeping me up at night and driving much of my work as of recent.

Oscar Tuazon - Bottom Dollar (wood, canvas, metal, and plastic) 2011

i would also like to note that it was 80° today - March in Chicago has an average high of 45° and a low of 28°. they say la niña, but it's still scary to me. people downtown this morning were wearing everything from shorts and sandals to winter coats: like they could will the weather to return to what it should be.

 Oscar Tuazon - A burnt sheet of paper with burnt words on it (concrete) 2011