Transitional objects
Transitional Objects oppose the notions of the Found Object or Readymade. These terms do not acknowledge the life and stories of the objects they encompass. Transitional Objects aim to ascribe a new definition to how we treat art objects. This document spans 311 pages. Inside, it includes an outline for Transitional Objects followed by the stories of the objects that remain under my care. These objects have transformed my practice throughout my ten years as a working artist. They may not always remain under my care, but their stories will remain in the archive.
Transitional objects. Objects in transition.
The current state of the (a/A)rt object is as follows:
1-The (A)rt object acts as capital in an unregulated market to ensure the rich get richer without the oversight of local, national, or global governments.
2-The (a)rt object is directly tied to the idea that your ‘art’ is a business and it is a job that you must perform.
As an artist, you must produce art objects as a source of capital. Your art is also you. Therefore, the value of your art is also the value of yourself as an individual, and since your art is in the business of generating (a)rt objects as capital. You, your body, your emotions, and your thoughts are a source of capital. Whose value is not regulated by you but is, in fact regulated by the market. Although the (A)rt object is quite troubling when it comes to arts contribution to rampant global wealth disparity, I am currently concerned with the (a)rt object. First off, if the market does not find value in the (a)rt objects you produce, it can be crippling to your self-worth as an individual within the market. If your (a)rt objects have no value, you have no value. Simple as that. My second concern is the decisions made in the (a)rt process will inevitably catapult you into creating (A)rt objects. As your (a)rt objects rise in value, their potential to cross the threshold into the (A)rt market escalates. In both (A)rt and (a)rt making processes, your creative decision-making is vulnerable to unregulated opinions based on the speculation of an unregulated market.
Transitional objects stand against both of these renditions of the art object. Transitional objects are objects in Transition. You cannot own an object in transition; you can only provide it with space to exist. You may be nothing more than a caretaker. In addition, you cannot sell an object that recognizes no ownership. A Transitional object has no assessable value. This is because they are objects in constant flux. They do not serve a singular function or fulfill a singular role. They disrupt the market; they flood it with objects that maintain no perceived market value. You may photograph a Transitional object, and sell that image as an (a)rt or (A)rt object; however, the Transitional object’s true value will always be indistinguishable. It is not easy to pinpoint a thing that is always in motion. You do not create Transitional objects; have always existed. Any object you “create” is nothing more than an assemblage or arrangement of other Transitional objects.