Determining Domain (2012-13)
Farnaz Shadravan
Dürer-Shadravan Tubs: Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (far left), 2011
Dürer-Shadravan Tubs: The Battle of the Angels (center left), 2011
Dürer-Shadravan Tubs: Opening the Fifth and Sixth Seals (center right), 2011
Dürer-Shadravan Tubs: St. Michael Fighting the Dragon (far right), 2011
Etched bathtubs
Shadravan presents a series of four full-size bathtubs that she has engraved directly into with her dental tools, scraping away the protective layer of porcelain to reveal the bathtub’s darker structure underneath. She copies four individual works from Albrecht Dürer’s seminal late 15th Century woodcut series, The Revelation of St. John (Apocalypse) onto these bathtubs, even transposing Dürer’s signature mark onto the work rather than signing it as her own work. Dürer was one of the first truly international artists, who achieved recognition and celebrity in his lifetime. A great master of the multiple image, his “AD” monogram became one of the first widely-known examples of a recognized trademark. All along Shadravan had intended her work to be a direct and apparent homage to Dürer’s artistic vision, creating a complex conversation around issues of appropriation, direct copying, and infringement.
Determining Domain
November 7, 2012 – January 19, 2013
Intersection for the Arts
San Francisco, CA
Photo credit: Scott Chernis