The Extraordinary Ordinary

Three Installations

Artists Tom Burckhardt, Ernesto Pujol, and Sandy Skoglund use the stuff of ordinary life to create extraordinary environments. In FULL STOP (2004-05), Burckhardt fashions a full-scale artist’s studio from corrugated cardboard, black paint, wood, and hot glue. The walk-through installation depicts a mythical artist’s studio, with sly references to luminaries including Edward Hopper, Jasper Johns, and Jackson Pollock. Pujol’s Walk#1 (2005-06) premiered at the McNay in 2006 and was subsequently acquired by the museum. Through photographs and artifacts, Pujol takes the viewer on a meditative walk through a Southern cemetery, observing a solitary robed figure as he encounters the cemetery’s natural views and architectural details. Skoglund’s The Cocktail Party (1992) recreates this domestic ritual using bright orange junk food snacks covering figures, furniture, walls, and floor. Acquired by the McNay in 2009, this presentation is the McNay’s second exhibition of the full three-dimensional tableaux, and is accompanied by a large color photograph of the same subject.

Event website