The Old Bench（老板凳）

Creator(s)

Gong-Xin WANG 王功新

Preview

Date

1995

Format

Slide

Materials

TV, wood, video

Description

In the installation, "The Old Bench" (1995), Wang Gongxin, “...enlivens actual ‘dead’ objects by performing them in new situations – that means within new space and time relations...the bench is animated by the looped projection of a finger touching it and as an element in an installation that invites the viewer to use the bench as a sitting device...By employing a loop structure, the action is temporalized and in consequence enlivened. The viewer becomes a participant because he or she is invited to touch the bench, or even take a seat” (Hopfener, Birgit. (2012). "‘Embodied Criticality’ in Moving-image Installations by Wang Gongxin and Zhang Peili." Journal of Visual Art Practice 11, no. 2 and 3: 193-208.) (Russ, Hannah ‘18)