Vitrine (vit’ren) n. A glass showcase for art objects
The Vitrine offers a new way to experience objects acquired through the Letherium. It acts as the intermediary in the event. It is not only the vestige of showcase and art but also that of consumerism. The vitrine never sells the real artifact, instead, the reproductions of the originals are available to purchase, indefinitely, or at least until the acquisition is changed. In this scenario there is no traditional “big show” that is put on — the daily visit and purchase through shopping is, in fact the “big show”. Mirroring the form of the actual structure, the typology of the vitrine is used to dictate the size and shape of the actual space. The vitrine acts as the not so-invisible border between consumption and trade. It physically organizes both circulation and production through its placement and vertical movement between floors. The vitrine enables the space to change from “shop” to “event” because of it’s movement between the basement for stocking up and the main floor for selling.
Like all parts of the project, the vitrine aesthetically positions itself as provocateur within the act of consumerism through its very form. This includes the portable hand-held technological devices which aid in creating and completing the transactions. Consumers enter, browse, and purchase through one continuous line of circulation. The ideology of Joseph Beuys’ multiples aid in manipulating the power and presence of the multiple as distribution of ideas. The very process of the multiple strips away the “preciousness” of each object and allows for the replication to be limitless and therefore
devalued. The current “collection” refers to the objects for purchase held in the vitrine, and in this sense the function can be seen as conduit between inclusivity and dissemination.
Back to first page for this entry...
|
