Big Suit
By Erwin Wum
Category: Sculpture
About
In Big Suit, Wurm magnifies a pink business suit to immense proportions (what would correspond to a size 144 in the US) but omits the body inside. His sculptures often focus on a single figure or body in a way that focuses all attention on the figure. Additionally, Wurm is interested in exploring the performance aspect of sculpture and in questioning “the point at which an action becomes a sculpture.” Meant to be humorous, Wurm’s sculptures infuse what are potentially serious issues in our society with his own lighthearted cynicism.
Dimensions: 118″ x 51″ x 29″
Year Completed: 2011
Material: Painted aluminum
Owner: Gateway Foundation
About the artist:
Erwin Wum
Artist Bio: b. 1954
Erwin Wurm currently lives in Vienna and Limberg, Austria. For the past three decades, Wurm has created sculptures that critique current issues in society with his own uniquely bizarre sense of humor and cynicism. Initially intending to become a painter, Wurm was placed in sculpture classes at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Austria, and began making sculptures with everyday objects such as cans, buckets, clothing, and dust. Combining these elements with present-day life questions, Wurm’s sculptures become relevant commentary on social issues such as healthcare, beauty, obesity, cars, and houses. In many of his sculptures, Wurm deals with scale and proportion, often distorting the perceived “normal” dimensions of everyday objects and body types to make sculptures that are fatter, thinner, larger, or smaller than what is considered the norm.
