Eco & Shrigley
In Umberto Eco’s, Travels in Hyperreality, he uses hyperreality to explain the logical point of view for humans. To Eco, art has double meanings, which means that one can only see what is on the surface. Shrigley incorporates this idea into his own work. He attempts to make pieces that allow both the irrational and obvious to be a part of his work. The obvious is the work itself, the illogical comes from the interpretation of the work, or according to Barthes, the “Text”. In Shrigley’s, You Don’t Know Who I Am, the obvious message is that of the letters on the paper, “You do not know who I am, you do not know what I want.” The viewer merely must read the paper to get the basic idea of what the piece is about. However, the unfounded, interpreted message can be different to each viewer, but regardless is more profound than the obvious message.
Shrigley's ability to replicate objects and ideas is also important to note. Although this reproductions are similar in nature, the essence of them is ironic and meaningful. Shrigley makes copies but adds his own style to each one. An uneducated viewer may not be able to distinguish between what is just a replication and what is Shrigley's own touch. Eco covered this when he talked about the Flagler house. He describes the home as a perfect reproduction and almost hard to decipher between the fake and the original. However, Eco also adds that while the "naive visitor" may have an illusion of absolute reality, those who choose to "decipher the panels and the flattening of real against fake and the old on the modern" will see the difference (10).
Eco, Umberto. Travels in Hyperreality: Essays. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1986. 4-7.
back to Methodology/Interpretation Project homepage
In Umberto Eco’s, Travels in Hyperreality, he uses hyperreality to explain the logical point of view for humans. To Eco, art has double meanings, which means that one can only see what is on the surface. Shrigley incorporates this idea into his own work. He attempts to make pieces that allow both the irrational and obvious to be a part of his work. The obvious is the work itself, the illogical comes from the interpretation of the work, or according to Barthes, the “Text”. In Shrigley’s, You Don’t Know Who I Am, the obvious message is that of the letters on the paper, “You do not know who I am, you do not know what I want.” The viewer merely must read the paper to get the basic idea of what the piece is about. However, the unfounded, interpreted message can be different to each viewer, but regardless is more profound than the obvious message.
Shrigley's ability to replicate objects and ideas is also important to note. Although this reproductions are similar in nature, the essence of them is ironic and meaningful. Shrigley makes copies but adds his own style to each one. An uneducated viewer may not be able to distinguish between what is just a replication and what is Shrigley's own touch. Eco covered this when he talked about the Flagler house. He describes the home as a perfect reproduction and almost hard to decipher between the fake and the original. However, Eco also adds that while the "naive visitor" may have an illusion of absolute reality, those who choose to "decipher the panels and the flattening of real against fake and the old on the modern" will see the difference (10).
Eco, Umberto. Travels in Hyperreality: Essays. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1986. 4-7.
back to Methodology/Interpretation Project homepage
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