Since we'll be discussing the role that appropriation plays in the construction of the map and in the history of New York City, it's important to consider work that entertains competing concepts of the appropriated source. While Mark Bradford uses found material directly in his work, the sculptor Robert Gober fabricates his work differently. His notes on this piece, Half Stone House, 1979-80, are below:
I moved to New York in 1976, the day after I graduated from college. I came to New York to find out what being an artist was and what art was and what in the world that meant to me. I made a living doing all sorts of jobs, from a busboy to carpentry. One day I decided that I was sick of working for other people, doing work that I really didn't care about and I asked myself a question. What would I find interesting and entertaining to make, that I could sell, to support myself? And without in any way belaboring the question, I decided that I would like to make dollhouses. I was also, during this time, struggling in a self-conscious way to both paint and make objects. I remember being adamant at the time that the idea of making dollhouses was not about making art. So I was, in a sense, giving myself a gift by unconsciously choosing my path and came to making art through a back door. I made a handful of dollhouses and never managed to make any money doing it. But each house became more complex and more interesting to conceive and construct until I realized that it wasn't dollhouses I was interested in. What I was drawn to was the house as a symbol.
-From Robert Gober: Sculptures and Installations 1979-2007, ed. by Theodora Vischer.
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