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Article: Tom Friedman: Obsession, Fixation, Transformation. Isn't that what art's about? (Showtime).(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Interview
- Article date:
- March 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Brant Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In a succession of works from the 1990s artist Tom Friedman carved his head in an aspirin tablet, copied every entry in The American Heritage Dictionary onto a single piece of paper, and inset strands of pubic hair to form a delicate spiral in a bar of soap, making him one of the leading proponents of the small-is-beautiful aesthetic. The artist has always used utterly mundane materials--sugar cubes, spaghetti, pencils, toothpaste--to fashion dazzlingly complex works that test the viewer's perceptual acuity. His art often seems brainy and corny at the same time, a puzzle, a conundrum and a gag. Mere recently, however, Friedman has been working on a larger scale, cutting ...