Extra
Lead, Leather, 12 Months of The New York Times 1990; 6´W x 4´H x 3´D
Extra investigates the tension between value and disposability in the world of news media. By compiling a year’s worth of The New York Times into a sculptural pile bound with lead and leather, the work asks viewers to consider the currency of information: What do we deem essential, and what do we discard as superfluous?
The title, Extra, plays on the dual meanings of the word — is this accumulation “extra” in the sense of extraordinary, noteworthy, and worthy of preservation, or is it “extra” as in excess, redundant, and disposable? The piece prompts reflection on our relationship to daily media, the overwhelming flow of information, and the ways in which society assigns worth to ephemeral content.
By transforming newspapers — objects we typically read, recycle, or ignore — into a lasting, tactile sculpture, Extraelevates the ordinary while simultaneously questioning the permanence and impermanence of what we consume. It is both a meditation on materiality and a commentary on how we assign significance in a world of constant information.