this is my resolution: artist notes- robert gober

Artist Research

Robert Gober
Drains
1990
Cast pewter
3 3/4 x 1 3/4 in.

http://finearts.illinoisstate.edu/galleries/images/rep_install2.jpg

http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/news/decker/Images/decker11-18-10.jpg

The drain feels mundane. It has a very loud domestic presence but this is not trumped by the potentially suggestive; the works evoke the intimate bodily processes of personal hygiene. The drain is made from cast pewter and is then sunk into the gallery wall. The act of doing this immediately strips the object from its purpose; it acts as an almost ready-made that references Marcel Duchamp. The drain is associated with eating and bathing, it can be seen as an emblem of purity and cleanliness. The drain is thus able to trigger a number of associations within the viewer. The work is additionally positioned at eye level, giving the viewer a sense of apprehension or inquiry as to what is behind the drain cap itself.

These associations with drains are things that I have been feeling myself. I like the way that the drain begs to be looked into. Perhaps I could position something near or inside of the hole in order to try and get the viewer to really look into it.