 Eraser Alex Pergament wood, found mask, found giant pencil, pencil sharpener, metal hardware, interaction, 8"(l) x 8"(w) x 13"(h); $1500 Exhibited at Village West in Under the Influence |
 End Envy John Fathom Inspiration piece for Alex Pergament for the Under the Influence show, Fall 2016 |
"The most direct influences of John Fathom's piece were the use of all salvage materials in assemblage, and message/purpose. Fathom's work is a piece of salvage wood, painted yellow, with the words "END ENVY" and a stenciled image of an archetypal moral man with an afro in red. The piece was part of a street art campaign that showed the same afro-man character delivering various social-ethic messages.
My piece began as the eraser mounted on one page atop the pencil component that reads "VANITY." The direct message was "ERASE VANITY." Both my piece and Fathom's are simple directed messages to society. Both pieces also incorporate characters (i.e. afroman and the mask) that act as individuals with whom the viewer communicates through the process of seeing/interacting with the art. My piece also uses assemblage of salvaged components, which is the primary mode of Fathom's work.
Because the position of the green pencil components (the tip, the eraser, and "Vanity,") and the mask can be moved, the meaning of the book changes with interaction. The only constant is the inevitable disappearance of the enabler of vanity--our bodies, and the vaccine against vanity of remaining present in the present."
If you are interested in purchasing this work, please contact Alex Pergament or visit www.HelgaAndCarl.com.