Facts Block |
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Title |
You Are Here - Not in Bed by Paul Tzanetopoulos |
Year |
2005-6 |
Exhibition |
2014 Westridge Centennial Art Exhibition – Curated by Jay Belloli, Pasadena, California 2007 PAUL TZANETOPOULOS eco”logic” Jancar Gallery, Los Angeles, California |
Dimensions |
72” x 26” x 16” |
Media |
Life-size statue, 26” LCD flat screen, DV drive, latex, paper, gel medium, sculpt foam, glass beads and mixed media |
Description
Covered with reflective glass beads and standing in a ‘Kouros’ stance, this piece features a life-size statue bearing a typical advertising sandwich board. The statue is in the image of the artist as a surrogate ‘performer in perpetuity.’ This statue represents the artist’s obligation, in absentia, to stand for what he believes in, which is reminding the public about their place in the universe -- more specifically, reminding them of where they are and where they are going, as holistically as possible, as in, it’s imperative that we as citizens respect each other’s space and we can only do this by being aware of our own.
This statue stands on a locator “green dot” or circle and his front sandwich board features a locator map, both conceptually and physically locating the viewer -- "you are now here."
The locator sandwich board serves as the conceptual structure of the piece. It shows a mini movie that serves as a location map, reminding us more holistically of where we are and reflecting a degree of human location and awareness. The viewpoint of these moving images is from an overhead perspective, as if the traveler is zooming in vertically from the outer regions of the universe to where they now stand. Beginning with an image of the solar system in the universe as we know it, the journey zooms in revealing Earth, next the North American continent and the United States, the West Coast, California, Southern California, Los Angeles, and finally pinpointing with a red locator dot, the Jancar Gallery (location of the exhibition). The image pauses here awhile before slowly zooming out, retracing the viewer’s journey from the universe.