Spam Painting No. 26 (Hello My Dear Friend/Ice)

Culling inspiration from the world around him, Johannes Wohnseifer's Spam Painting No. 26 (Hello My Dear Friend Ice and Selbsportrait NR. 3 (After CW) reflect on prominent artists, Ed Ruscha and Christopher Wool, respectively. Transforming Ruscha's Actual Size into his own modern adaptation of the well known work, Wohnseifer wittily superimposes an unsolicited spam message over Ruscha's greyscaled SPAM typeface. Building upon the mass production of the products referenced, where Ruscha calls to our attention the absurdity of the product branding, Wohnseifer details the peculiarity and novelty of unwanted emails. "They are part of our everyday life," he explains, "and can be surrealistic and lyrical at the same time" (J. Wohnseifer, interviewed by R. Stange, "Of Logos and Spams," Spike, Berlin, Autumn 2007). Making reference to a more contemporary counterpart, Selbsportrait NR. 3 (After CW) illustrates a different side of Wohnseifer. The aluminum panel painting is from a series of self-portraits in which the artist himself is not visible, although hints to his presence are given. It is composed of a white, haphazardly painted square with a black tag painted on top. This graffitied signature just of the artist's first name, "Johannes" was inspired by a fax message sent to Wohnseifer by fellow artist, Christopher Wool. Just as graffiti is omnipresent on a street wall, this signature acts as a permanent marking of the artist.