Hubbry Logo
logo
Artist's multiple
Community hub

Artist's multiple

logo
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Contribute something to knowledge base
Hub AI

Artist's multiple AI simulator

(@Artist's multiple_simulator)

Artist's multiple

Artist's multiple is a series of identical art objects produced or commissioned by artist according to his or her idea, usually a signed limited edition made specifically for selling.

Multiples have been called the most accessible and reasonably priced contemporary art on the market, value for money.[citation needed] They could be multiples of a 2D print, 3D sculpture or installation piece. The multiple offers artists a way of selling work without compromising their artistic integrity and makes their work accessible to a wider market.

Multiples are united by their lack of uniqueness, usually regarded as a prerequisite in a work of art. Many are by artists who work solely with the concept of the multiple. The challenge to the artist is in finding ways of realizing an idea that can be repeated time and again. Thus part of the creative challenge comes in researching new methods and sourcing new materials, leading to some unlikely collaborations between artist and fabricators.

Multiples are not a new idea. Many artists in the 20th century tinkered with the concept. Spurred on by Marcel Duchamp's ready-mades, the multiple became a subversive art-form. Hand-made, limited edition books were around long before that - William Morris and Walter Crane were using mass production methods to take art to the masses true to their socialist ideals in the 19th century.

Marcel Duchamp is a forebear of multiples as they are known today. His ready-mades elevated everyday objects to works of art by the act of signing them. His 1935 work Rotoreliefs, a set of six rotating optical discs, which were issued in an edition of 500 is one of the first true artists' multiples.

Joseph Beuys (1921–1986) took the multiple idea further. Disillusioned by the approach to everyday objects manifested by Fluxus, Beuys wanted to reclaim the role of the object as art. He felt that as an artist he could channel energy from everyday objects and imbue them with new power and meaning. Wolf Vostells first multiple Do it yourself was published in 1963 to go with his show at the Smolin Gallery.

In 1993, artists Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin took over a disused shop in London's East End and, with other artists friends including Damien Hirst, sold T-shirts, mugs and other customized items as works of art. This artist-led approach to selling art directly to the public not only re-popularised the artists multiple, but was a key moment in the subsequent Young British Artist era, culminating in the Charles Saatchi collected "Sensation" exhibition.

Since 2005, there have been vending machines produced by the association Un Certain Détachement from Grenoble, France. The association was founded by artists Mary Veale, Claude Gazengel and Alain Quercia in 2005. There have been 40 contemporary artists making multiples in video, books, sculpture, design etc. All are works are individually signed and numbered and displayed in shows throughout France, including the 2011 Biennale d'art contemporain de Lyon.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.