Saturday, April 30, 2016

Z is for Andrea Zittel


Image result for a z andrea zittel 


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My theme this year is the ABCEDARIA of Women who have inspired me.

And finally Z is for Andrea Zittel - an environmental artist whose blog is called A-Z!

Confession - Andrea Zittel started inspiring me when I read about her this morning (two days before you are reading this post). There just aren't enough Z's but I can honestly and vehemently say - wowza! She is so bloody inspiring.  I found her on a list of alternative artists (or something like that). I didn't want to put another poet from the 3rd century. Not that there is anything wrong with them but... Andrea Zittel is crazy good. She makes installation art. Here is a description of her work:

Image result for a z andrea zittelZittel’s sculptures and installations transform everything necessary for life—such as eating, sleeping, bathing, and socializing—into artful experiments in living. Blurring the lines between life and art, Zittel’s projects extend to her own home and wardrobe. Wearing a single outfit every day for an entire season, and constantly remodeling her home to suit changing demands and interests, Zittel continually reinvents her relationship to her domestic and social environment. Influenced by Modernist design and architecture from the early twentieth century, the artist’s one-woman mock organization, A–Z Administrative Services, develops furniture, homes, and vehicles for contemporary consumers with a similar simplicity and attention to order. Seeking to attain a sense of freedom through structure, Zittel is more interested in revealing the human need for order than in prescribing a single unifying design principle or style. “People say my work is all about control, but it’s not, really,” she remarks....
Image result for a z andrea zittel

There is no clear way for me to describe what she does but I am intrigued to find out more. She creates these absolutely fascinating little structures to live out on the land in - or furniture that looks like boulders - or chamber pots. 

Her company A-ZWest has this as a descriptor: A-Z West, an institute of investigative living:  The A-Z enterprise encompasses all aspects of day to day living. Home furniture, clothing, food all become the sites of investigation in an ongoing endeavor to better understand human nature and the social construction of needs.





4 comments:

Gail M Baugniet - Author said...

Great discovery in Andrea Zittel, and a perfect way to round out your AtoZChallenge. Congrats on reaching your goal . . . The End!

Gail’s 2016 April A to Z Challenge

Robyn said...

LOVE her! Trying to convince my daughter to go stay and work at her place this fall. Did you read about how she used to crochet a dress each year and then wears it, like, everyday? Perfect way to end the series! Thank you....xoxox

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful discovery, Jan! And isn't it great when someone whose work you discover is so inspiring? Fabulous!

Susan Scott said...

A great Z post Jan thank you! What an inspired woman to use what is, in land and environs to better have an understanding of her surrounds. Not sure I could wear the same piece of clothing daily, unless in the name of research as was her intention ...
Whew! We're done, I'm done in ... some zzzz's are in order - later ....