Tom Sachs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tom Sachs
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Sachs in February 2024
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| Born | July 26, 1966 New York City, US
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| Known for | Sculpture |
| Spouse(s) |
Sarah Hoover
(m. 2012) |
Tom Sachs (born July 26, 1966) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. He is known for his unique sculptures and art projects. His work often uses everyday materials to create new versions of famous objects.
Contents
Early Life and Art Beginnings
Tom Sachs was born in New York City on July 26, 1966. He grew up in Westport, Connecticut. After high school, he studied at Bennington College in Vermont. Later, he studied architecture in London.
Sachs then worked for two years in Frank Gehry's furniture shop in Los Angeles. This is where he first heard the term knolling. Around 1990, Sachs moved to New York. He started his own studio called Allied Cultural Prosthetics.
First Big Art Project
In 1994, Sachs was asked to create a Christmas display for a store called Barneys New York. He made a piece called Hello Kitty Nativity. In this artwork, the Virgin Mary was replaced by Hello Kitty. The three Kings were Bart Simpsons. The stable had a McDonald's logo. This art project got a lot of attention. It showed Sachs' interest in consumerism and famous brands.
Tom Sachs' Art Career
Sachs' art career really started to grow in the mid-1990s. His first big solo show was "Cultural Prosthetics" in 1995. In this show, he mixed fashion and other themes. For example, he made HG (Hermès Hand Grenade) (1995). This was a model of a hand grenade made from Hermès packaging. He also made Tiffany Glock (Model 19) (1995).
Exploring Brands and Art
His next major show was "Creativity is the Enemy" in 1998. It included sculptures like Chanel Guillotine (1998). Another piece was Prada Deathcamp (1998). These works used famous fashion brands in unexpected ways.
Other artworks, like Hermés Value Meal (1998), combined fashion with other well-known brands, such as McDonald's. Sachs also made versions of Piet Mondrian's famous paintings using gaffer's tape. Sachs often makes things he wants but cannot have. He says, "making it is a way of having it."
Learning from Experience
Around this time, Sachs showed SONY Outsider (1998). This sculpture was a full-size model of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. It was made by outside companies, not by hand. Critics did not like it much. They felt it did not show Sachs' unique style.
Sachs learned from this. He started to focus on "bricolage". This means making things from materials that are already available. He likes to show the effort and history in his work. He says, "We have our system of making things out of certain materials... and of showing the scars of our labor."
Interactive Art Shows
In 2002 and 2003, Sachs had a large exhibition called "Nutsy's". This show covered an entire floor. Visitors could drive remote-controlled cars on tracks. Some of Sachs' most famous works were shown here. These included Unité and Nutsy's McDonald's. Unité is a small model of a famous building by Le Corbusier, made from foamcore.
His art can be found in major museums around the world. These include the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Collaborations and Recent Work
In 2012, Sachs worked with Nike to create the Mars Yard sneaker. They later released another sneaker called the General Purpose Shoe.
In 2017, the Nasher Sculpture Center held a show called Tom Sachs: Tea Ceremony. This exhibition focused on Sachs' special way of doing traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
Sachs has also made custom playing cards. These cards feature pictures of his artwork.
Space Program Projects
Tom Sachs has always been interested in space. He has made many space-related sculptures. His biggest project is the Space Program. It started in 2007.
First Space Mission
For his first Space Program, Sachs built a full-size model of the Apollo lunar module. He also created a mission control room. He even dressed two female astronauts in handmade space suits. In October 2007, at a gallery in Los Angeles, Sachs launched his "spacecraft." They "landed" on the "Moon" and explored it.
Sachs' Space Program is often funny and not historically accurate. His lunar module had a vodka bar and a library! After "landing," the astronauts used handmade shotguns to "patrol the surface." They then planted a flag and took "rock samples" by drilling into the gallery floor.
Continuing the Space Journey
Sachs continues to work on the Space Program. He collected many fake "Moon rocks". He named each one and put them in special display boxes. You can even download a "Moon Rock Report" with details on each sample.
In May 2012, Sachs opened "Space Program 2.0: MARS" in New York. This show included equipment from the first program. It also had new sculptures for colonizing Mars. These included a Mars rover and a solar-powered boombox. As of 2021–2022, the Space Program is shown in Germany.
Bronze Collection
In 2008 and 2009, Sachs' Bronze Collection was shown. This collection featured large white bronze sculptures. These included famous characters like Hello Kitty and Miffy. He also showed bronze casts of battery towers and a skateboarding halfpipe.
Understanding Knolling
The word knolling was first used in 1987. It was created by Andrew Kromelow, who worked at Frank Gehry's furniture shop. Gehry was designing chairs for a company called Knoll. Knoll was known for its furniture with straight, angular shapes.
Kromelow would arrange tools at right angles. He called this "knolling" because the tools looked like Knoll furniture. This made the workspace organized. It also helped people see all objects at once.
Knolling in Sachs' Studio
Tom Sachs worked in Gehry's shop and learned about knolling. It became a very important part of his art process. Sachs uses the phrase "Always be Knolling" (ABK) as a rule for his studio. He explains it in his 2009 studio manual, 10 Bullets:
- Look around for materials, tools, or books that are not being used.
- Put away everything you are not using.
- Group all similar objects together.
- Line up all objects. Make them straight with the surface they are on or the studio itself.
Knolling can be seen in Sachs' art, like Hardcore. This is a cabinet filled with objects neatly arranged at right angles. Sachs has also been interested in Knoll furniture for a long time. He made full-size copies of Knoll furniture, like Knoll Loveseat and End Table. Knolling is also used by Casey Neistat, who used to work for Sachs.
See also
- 5S (methodology)
- Shadow board
