By-product Becomes Product (2013)
Russell Baldon
Mutant Boxes, 2013
Custom sawdust/paper fiber composite boards, white pigmented shellac, ink
“When my friend Christine Lee told me she was working on a new form of particleboard in the labs of the University of Wisconsin where she was doing an artist residency I didn’t know what to think. Then I thought about it for half of a second longer and realized that this was exactly like something Christine would dream up.
Upon receiving the material I thought for quite awhile on what best to make from this new “stuff” that seemed to be some kind of bastard love child of Homasote and particleboard. It took a few weeks of thinking about how this material transformed itself from a pile of industrial waste to possibly one of the greenest building materials ever. This led me to consider my own transformation from toymaker to art student to designer to teacher to parent to whatever other hat I decide to wear on any given day or hour. This identity flux is the foundation of the exquisite corpse boxes I built. The outward perception of who we are versus how we think of ourselves has always been an interesting area of artistic exploration for me. This is the first time in my career that I have ever shown drawings in public – I guess I’ve transformed into a draw-er.” – Russsell Baldon
By-product Becomes Product
February 6 – March 30, 2013
Intersection for the Arts
San Francisco, CA
Photo credit: Scott Chernis