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Tom Pfannerstill  Louisville, KY

'Bud Can'
Acrylic and/or enamel on carved basswood
'Camel Lights'
Acrylic and/or enamel on carved basswood

* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.


About Tom


The works in the series “From the Street” are carefully crafted, carved and painted, trompe l’oeil depictions of everyday common objects. On the back of each piece is a description of where and when I found this ‘gift from the street’ and so, they provide a record that mirrors my movements through time and space.

In the most obvious sense these pieces speak to issues of commercialism and consumerism. The objects reflect state-of-the-art-graphics; one can almost sense the well-planned and psychologically tested schemes to sell the products. They are a testament to the effectiveness of that marketing, after all, someone made the decision to purchase the product before consuming it and discarding the packaging. What happens next, though, is of greatest interest to me. These pieces are carried away and undergo a unique series of events that lead to their individuation.

Each of these objects was at one time a near-perfect clone of millions of others of it’s type. It was designed and manufactured to exacting standards. By the time I find it, it has become a tiny study of opposing forces. Mechanical geometric precision is altered by organic twists, bends and folds. The inherent rationality is overlaid with elements of chance. The sparkling clean surfaces are smudged and marked by everyday dirt, grit and grime. No two objects have exactly the same journey , so no two are marked in exactly the same way. Each wears a record of its own particular history, has become unique. It is this difference, this particular story of this particular object that I attempt to capture.

These works record harsh realities and the effects of exposure to natural elements over the course of time, time being a major consideration. The notation of where and when I found each piece reinforces this time element. There is also a missing time element, an implied narrative about how the object travelled from where it originated to where I happened upon it.These objects have a life span so to speak (if not an actual one, at least metaphoric one), from their production through their usefulness to their ultimate disposal. As such, I see them as ‘memento mori’, reminders of mortality and the corresponding corollary ‘carpe diem’. They are subtle reminders of the temporal nature of all things.


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Tom appears in the following Top 10 lists


'Hyperreal'

'2017'


3 reactions displayed


"amazing source of light & aluminum texture. love the aluminum's depth and attention to detail throughout the different fonts"

"One man's trash, another man's art."

"...great work, great concept....love it"


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