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拍品專文
"Without nature there is no inspiration, there is no Joy, there is no life." -Niki Haas
With their exaggerated features and splayed limbs, this group of Haas Brothers sculptures demonstrates their interest in the animal form. Resembling what at first may seem to be regular animal pelts, they are no ordinary animals at all. The Haas Brothers explain, “We were inspired by animal pelts, but we thought it’d be funny to use extinct animals to have pelts that you can’t actually get” (H. Martin, “These Limited-Edition Rugs Are Works of Contemporary Art,” Architectural Digest, 16 April 2017). Thus, they take on the shapes of a Dodo bird, Woolly Mammoth, Tasmanian Tiger, Giant Cheetah, and a long-lost subspecies of Zebra, the Quagga. Rich in color, soft in texture, and spirited in wordplay, this series’ sense of fun and imaginative invention attract and beguile the viewer.
Each work is executed in different sizes, but all have similar organic and primal shapes. Texture is created by varying the pile height of the hand-knotted wool, giving parts of Le Brea Brad Pitt and Quasidodo, for example, a perceivable fluffiness. Fruit Stripe is dyed in vivid shades of blues, greens, pinks, oranges, and yellows set in contrast to bright white. The biomorphic shapes that decorate the pelt of Cheetah Hayworth are juxtaposed to the more angular shape of the piece overall. The echoing of patterning and form found in each of the five colored designs offers a sense of cohesion when the rugs are displayed as a group, but still allows each rug to remain distinct enough as stand-alone pieces when displayed separately.
These Haas Brothers forms are zoomorphic designs akin to the sculptures of Jeff Koons, who also works with animals as a subject matter. Both the Haas Brothers and Koons embrace and emphasize the materiality of the media they work with while simultaneously connecting their pieces to references in pop culture. Amusing examples of this are found in the form of puns, which the Haas Brothers use to title their artwork, making no exception with their rugs. Cheetah Hayworth is named after the 1940s actress and dancer. Taz-Been, a play on the colloquialism “has-been” uses the shortened version of the moniker “Tasmanian.” Le Brea Brad Pitt is a reference to an area in Los Angeles called La Brea Tar Pits, where naturally occurring asphalt has preserved the bones of animals over thousands of years. The stripes in Fruit Stripe are evocative of the gum of the same name, and draw inspiration from the brand’s mascot, a zebra. Quasidodo alludes to the Victor Hugo novel Quasimodo, but also serves as a literal translation of “quasi” and “dodo” when combined – one of the most well-known extinct species, the bird is real in our imaginations but not in actuality.
This grouping stands out as a distinct series, similar in their investigation of the subject matter and form of the animal. They are also exemplary of the duo’s interest in jest, imagination, and magic, and are no less absurd than any of their other artworks in this regard. Simon Haas says of one of the pieces, “It just seems like this Alice in Wonderland fantasy creature…The rugs are so finely made but totally wacko,” (H. Martin, “These Limited-Edition Rugs Are Works of Contemporary Art,” Architectural Digest, 16 April 2017). This assemblage is a delightful testament to their artistic mission of creating light-hearted and humorous creations.
The Haas Brothers’ playful works draw us into their alternate universe, suggesting a world where extinct animals like these still exist. Beyond the imaginative, the Haas Brothers would like their work to have a greater impact on the world through humor and understanding. Nikolai says of their audience, “If they can sit there and laugh at a bronze sculpture like it’s a joke, that’s pretty cool. That’s the door into that person’s life. If you can make them laugh, they understand you. And as soon as they understand you, they can sympathize with you and then you can start to change the way their mind works,” (N. Haas, quoted by A. Forbes, “The Haas Brothers on Why Changing the World May Mean Leaving the Art World Behind," Artsy, 15 October 2015).
With their exaggerated features and splayed limbs, this group of Haas Brothers sculptures demonstrates their interest in the animal form. Resembling what at first may seem to be regular animal pelts, they are no ordinary animals at all. The Haas Brothers explain, “We were inspired by animal pelts, but we thought it’d be funny to use extinct animals to have pelts that you can’t actually get” (H. Martin, “These Limited-Edition Rugs Are Works of Contemporary Art,” Architectural Digest, 16 April 2017). Thus, they take on the shapes of a Dodo bird, Woolly Mammoth, Tasmanian Tiger, Giant Cheetah, and a long-lost subspecies of Zebra, the Quagga. Rich in color, soft in texture, and spirited in wordplay, this series’ sense of fun and imaginative invention attract and beguile the viewer.
Each work is executed in different sizes, but all have similar organic and primal shapes. Texture is created by varying the pile height of the hand-knotted wool, giving parts of Le Brea Brad Pitt and Quasidodo, for example, a perceivable fluffiness. Fruit Stripe is dyed in vivid shades of blues, greens, pinks, oranges, and yellows set in contrast to bright white. The biomorphic shapes that decorate the pelt of Cheetah Hayworth are juxtaposed to the more angular shape of the piece overall. The echoing of patterning and form found in each of the five colored designs offers a sense of cohesion when the rugs are displayed as a group, but still allows each rug to remain distinct enough as stand-alone pieces when displayed separately.
These Haas Brothers forms are zoomorphic designs akin to the sculptures of Jeff Koons, who also works with animals as a subject matter. Both the Haas Brothers and Koons embrace and emphasize the materiality of the media they work with while simultaneously connecting their pieces to references in pop culture. Amusing examples of this are found in the form of puns, which the Haas Brothers use to title their artwork, making no exception with their rugs. Cheetah Hayworth is named after the 1940s actress and dancer. Taz-Been, a play on the colloquialism “has-been” uses the shortened version of the moniker “Tasmanian.” Le Brea Brad Pitt is a reference to an area in Los Angeles called La Brea Tar Pits, where naturally occurring asphalt has preserved the bones of animals over thousands of years. The stripes in Fruit Stripe are evocative of the gum of the same name, and draw inspiration from the brand’s mascot, a zebra. Quasidodo alludes to the Victor Hugo novel Quasimodo, but also serves as a literal translation of “quasi” and “dodo” when combined – one of the most well-known extinct species, the bird is real in our imaginations but not in actuality.
This grouping stands out as a distinct series, similar in their investigation of the subject matter and form of the animal. They are also exemplary of the duo’s interest in jest, imagination, and magic, and are no less absurd than any of their other artworks in this regard. Simon Haas says of one of the pieces, “It just seems like this Alice in Wonderland fantasy creature…The rugs are so finely made but totally wacko,” (H. Martin, “These Limited-Edition Rugs Are Works of Contemporary Art,” Architectural Digest, 16 April 2017). This assemblage is a delightful testament to their artistic mission of creating light-hearted and humorous creations.
The Haas Brothers’ playful works draw us into their alternate universe, suggesting a world where extinct animals like these still exist. Beyond the imaginative, the Haas Brothers would like their work to have a greater impact on the world through humor and understanding. Nikolai says of their audience, “If they can sit there and laugh at a bronze sculpture like it’s a joke, that’s pretty cool. That’s the door into that person’s life. If you can make them laugh, they understand you. And as soon as they understand you, they can sympathize with you and then you can start to change the way their mind works,” (N. Haas, quoted by A. Forbes, “The Haas Brothers on Why Changing the World May Mean Leaving the Art World Behind," Artsy, 15 October 2015).