Iron Sorrows

1990 - Sculpture (Sculpture)

27H x 25.5W x 2 inches

Alexis Smith

location: Los Angeles, California
year born: 1949
gender: female
nationality: American
home town: Los Angeles, California

Iron Sorrows (1990) brings together what are for Alexis Smith common motifs and materials such as scavenged and repurposed metal, and street signage. Iron is one of nature’s most abundant metals. Smith, a philosopher of human detritus and poetic associations, presents it in this work as simultaneously everywhere yet paradoxically forgotten, lost in the heaps of refuse that fill junkyards and vacant lots. She thereby recalls and reclaims something important and elemental—indeed, a material that is integral to the physical fabric of culture and society, one that we associate with incorruptibility and malleability simultaneously.


At a moment when Minimalism and Conceptual Art collided, Southern California-based Alexis Smith began working with discarded street signs, matchbooks, movie posters, and other detritus to become one of the pioneers of conceptual assemblage. Her cryptic comments on the cloudy morality of American culture are derived from pop cultural references including political figures like Richard Nixon, Hollywood films, and pop musicians. This borrowing of literally recycled material and recycled cultural tropes is also seen in the work of Smith’s peers Mike Kelley, Chris Burden, and Vija Celmins.


Colors:



Related works featuring themes of: » Advertising and Brands, » Americana, » Appropriation Art, » Assemblage, » American  
» see more

The Breaks
© » KADIST

Juan Capistran

2002

The Breaks reflects Capistran’s interests in sampling and fusing different cultural, social, and historical sources...

Untitled (Joseph T. Robinson Standing at a Podium in a Room), Damaged series
© » KADIST

Lisa Oppenheim

2003

The Damaged series by Lisa Oppenheim takes a series of selected photographs from the Chicago Daily News (1902 – 1933) as its source material...

South Africa Righteous Space
© » KADIST

Hank Willis Thomas

2014

South Africa Righteous Space by Hank Willis Thomas is concerned with history and identity, with the way race and ‘blackness’ has not only been informed but deliberately shaped and constructed by various forces – first through colonialism and slavery, and more recently through mass media and advertising – and reminds us of the financial and economic stakes that have always been involved in representations of race....

Subject, Silver, Prism
© » KADIST

Brian Jungen

2011

There are several elements to Subject, Silver, Prism ...

Other related works, blended automatically  
» see more

8 Ball Surfboard
© » KADIST

Alexis Smith

1995

In 8 Ball Surfboard (1995),Alexis Smith combines her long-term interests in California culture and conceptual assemblage...

The Breaks
© » KADIST

Juan Capistran

2002

The Breaks reflects Capistran’s interests in sampling and fusing different cultural, social, and historical sources...

Untitled (Joseph T. Robinson Standing at a Podium in a Room), Damaged series
© » KADIST

Lisa Oppenheim

2003

The Damaged series by Lisa Oppenheim takes a series of selected photographs from the Chicago Daily News (1902 – 1933) as its source material...

Telescopic Pole (Tennis Balls Red) and (Tennis Balls)
© » KADIST

Chadwick Rantanen

2010

Telescopic Pole is an adjustable telescopic pole that extends vertically from floor to ceiling and is held up by its own internal pressure...

Related works sharing similar palette  
» see more

'Homoerotic, sexualised' Jesus poster sparks outrage in Spain
© » FRANCE24

'Homoerotic, sexualised' Jesus poster sparks outrage in Spain - In the press Skip to main content 'Homoerotic, sexualised' Jesus poster sparks outrage in Spain Issued on: 30/01/2024 - 11:19 07:56 IN THE PRESS © FRANCE 24 By: Dheepthika LAURENT IN THE PRESS – Tuesday, January 30: We take a look at the French and European papers after French farmers blockade the majors roads leading to Paris in a protest over their working conditions and pay...

A unique fusion of fashion and artistry, HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE “Immersed in the Wilds of Creativity”
© » DIANE PERNET

A unique fusion of fashion and artistry, HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE “Immersed in the Wilds of Creativity” – A Shaded View on Fashion Dear Shaded Viewers, At first when I walked into the Palais du Tokyo, I thought that there were childlike paintings on the walls...

Character Witness
© » KADIST

Nicoline van Harskamp

2008

The work is a speech composed of excerpts from autobiographies of well-known political characters...

The Abramović look
© » ROYAL ACADEMY

The Abramović look | Blog | Royal Academy of Arts Marina Abramović range from the RA Shop The Abramović look Read more Become a Friend The Abramović look Published 20 October 2023 Our range of Marina Abramović clothing and accessories has been produced in collaboration with the artist...

Related works from the » 1990's created around » Los Angeles, California  
» see more

One Must
© » KADIST

John Baldessari

1997

In One Must , an image of a pair of scissors, accompanied by the words of work’s title, poses an ominous question about the relationship between the image and the text...

Freeway Series
© » KADIST

Catherine Opie

1994

Although best known as a provocateur and portraitist, Opie also photographs landscapes, cityscapes, and architecture...

Untitled Inkblot Drawing (CT-1491)
© » KADIST

Bruce Conner

1995

Bruce Conner is best known for his experimental films, but throughout his career he also worked with pen, ink, and paper to create drawings ranging from psychedelic patterns to repetitious inkblot compositions...

Other works by: » Alexis Smith  
» see more

8 Ball Surfboard
© » KADIST

Alexis Smith

1995

In 8 Ball Surfboard (1995),Alexis Smith combines her long-term interests in California culture and conceptual assemblage...

Related works found in the same semantic group  
» see more

Peter Hort, Collector Who Forged Strong Connections in the New York Art World, Dies at 51 - via ARTnews
© » LARRY'S LIST

He was the son of Susan and Michael Hort, a collecting couple that is widely known....

‘They feel they are part of that’: community engagement the aim of art initiative in Hong Kong that brings together a project’s developer and neighbours
© » SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

‘They feel they are part of that’: community engagement the aim of art initiative in Hong Kong that brings together a project’s developer and neighbours...

Yoke
© » KADIST

Diane Simpson

2012

Simpson’s sculptural practice connects architecture, clothing, furniture and the body to explore the functional and sociological roles and the influence of the design and architecture of various cultures and periods in history...

Plug the well ( July / August 2003)
© » KADIST

Keith Tyson

The work of Keith Tyson is concerned with an interest in generative systems, and embraces the complexity and interconnectedness of existence...