Filed under: NEWS | Tags: Barbara Hashimoto: Junk Mail, Flickr, R. Productions, Shredded Junk Mail w/Grand Piano
(Chicago) July 28, 2008 – Artist Barbara Hashimoto collected and hand-shredded the junk mail that came to her studio address for twelve months. At year’s end she had 3,000 cubic feet of shredded material. Her labor-intensive yet intimate process has inspired a series of sculptures, installations, performances, and collaborations including Shredded Junk Mail with Grand Piano with musician Edward Torrez and videographer Eric Hoffhines. At the commencement of the performance, an imposing pile of this shredded unsolicited material was amassed in the center of the performance space. As Torrez played on the concert grand piano, Hashimoto transferred her stockpile of shredded junk mail until it fully engulfed both musician and instrument. Her movements, initially deliberate and calm, grew into a frenzied crescendo and then into meditative resignation. Buried in paper, Torrez continued to play, his final melodic lullabies muffled by the hundreds of pounds of paper entombing the piano. The entire video can be viewed at barbarahashimoto.com
