Nasty Pieces of Work

August 22, 2013 8:51 AM

Tim Noble & Sue Webster make art (mildly NSFW), including an ongoing series of abstract sculpture which, when spot-lit, throw very human shadows.

YOUNGMAN, 2012
THE INDIVIDUAL, 2012
THE GAMEKEEPER'S GIBBET, 2011
SELF IMPOSED MISERY, 2010
DEAD THINGS, 2010 (Trilogy to the Facts of Life, 1)
WILD MOOD SWINGS, 2009–10
COLD DEATH, 2009 (Trilogy to the Facts of Life, 3)
NASTY PIECES OF WORK, 2008–09
DARK STUFF, 2008 (Trilogy to the Facts of Life, 2)
A HOLE, 2005
HE/SHE, (Diptych) 2004
KISS OF DEATH, 2003
FALLING APART, 2001
BRITISH WILDLIFE, 2000
DOUBLE HEADER/DOUBLE PLEASURE, 2000 (NSFW)
THE ORIGINAL SINNERS, 2000
DIRTY WHITE TRASH (WITH GULLS), 1998
MISS UNDERSTOOD & MR MEANOR, 1997

posted by griphus (14 comments total)

Larry Kagen, former chair of the art department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute makes similar works you might also enjoy. Impossible to tell what the shadow image will be by looking at the sculpture, but they require the light source to be at a precise angle to the piece.
posted by Dean358 at 8:56 AM on August 22, 2013

Well these are creepy and delightful. Nice find.
posted by phunniemee at 8:56 AM on August 22, 2013

This one's haunting.
posted by chavenet at 8:59 AM on August 22, 2013

Witchcraft.
posted by bpm140 at 9:39 AM on August 22, 2013

I remember then being on the documentary series Living With The Enemy (back when UK television documentaries weren't dumbed down tabloid garbage).. which was a program where people with wildly differing viewpoints lived with each other and were supposed to try and see each other side. Noble came across a little bit up himself, but certainly no more than the average YBA at the time, and overall the were certainly more pleasant and interesting than the pair of stuffy old fuddy duddy fans of traditional art only, they had been paired with.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:00 AM on August 22, 2013

Thanks griphus. I am taking intermediate sculpture this coming semester and will have to present a sculptor to the class. I think I have found my subject.
posted by cairnoflore at 10:25 AM on August 22, 2013

Kagen's art makes me want to write a program to generate these automatically (and then send them off to a 3d printer).
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:44 AM on August 22, 2013

Mac Adams' works are waaaay more interesting for me.. His was doing this sort of thing, better imo in the 70's.
posted by snaparapans at 11:13 AM on August 22, 2013

Any particular works you recommend? I checked out the link and I'm having a difficult time finding comparable pieces.
posted by griphus at 11:29 AM on August 22, 2013

OH.. sorry griphus...I know the work from seeing it in person over the years, so I did not look carefully at his site.. looks way under-representative of his works.. this link is better... and even more here.. under empty shadows.
posted by snaparapans at 12:03 PM on August 22, 2013

Ah, yeah, they're definitely in the same vein. I think there's a big difference in scale, representation and the complexity of the sculpture itself though.
posted by griphus at 12:08 PM on August 22, 2013

Maybe.. I have seen lots of both artists work. For me Tim Noble and Sue Webster is pretty superficial compared to Mac Adams... but different era.. and I am sure it boils down to taste.
Noble and Webster are rock stars today ($$$ and fame) compared to Mac Adams.. I guess Mac Adams is old fashioned out of vogue, and not able to keep up with the current art star scene..
posted by snaparapans at 12:27 PM on August 22, 2013

Ah, yeah, they're definitely in the same vein

It would be impossible to imagine that Tim Noble and Sue Webster did not know Mac Adams work.
Also, I doubt that they would ever acknowledge that they... um... borrowed from him.
posted by snaparapans at 12:33 PM on August 22, 2013

Crazy stuff. I recently came across another great contemporary shadow sculptor, Kumi Yamashita. Very different sculpting style from Noble/Webster though, which gives a pretty different feel to the otherwise similar resulting shadows.
posted by p3t3 at 4:10 PM on August 22, 2013