22 replica laptops, molded from an Apple MacBook, were cast from a mix of sugar, corn syrup and food coloring. They were placed in the gallery under bright spotlights. Slowly over the course of the exhibition the candy softened, and eventually melted. There were several impromptu tastings at the opening.
Ceramic horses were produced in Tang Dynasty, China (618-916) as fine funerary objects. The original objects are among the most prized artifacts from the period. The tang dynasty horses that are produced today are cheap knock offs of their predecessors. I purchased eight of these replica ceramic Tang Dynasty Horses from Treasure Trove in Colorado via Amazon.com. I made nearly identical versions of the purchased tchotchkes, and these handmade Seconds were returned within the 60 day return period. My original works are now re-circulated through Amazon’s global exchange system in a cross-cultural collaboration that questions the authenticity and values of commodifying cultural iconography.
Polyurethane foam, Fabric, Honda CRV, parking garage
Rigid poly-urethane, expandable foam, olympic swimming pool
Found picture frames, aluminum, steel 96” in Diameter. Part of “Uncommon Connections” with Terrence Campana, and Karl Hoffmann at Da Wang Culture Highland, Shenzhen China
While studying Chinese ceramic history at Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, I produced several poorly crafted imitations of traditional pottery forms from various dynasties. After learning to barter in the local language, I took these forms to a black market, and attempted to hawk them as authentic artifacts. Playing the role of the “mountain bandit,” my Western presence performance complicated the idea of shanzhai (knock off or counterfeit consumer goods). Infringing on the brand of traditional Chinese ceramics, Black Market was a spectacle met with confusion and bewilderment by passersby.
Fun Stuff
Springboard Collective is pleased to present LIMO CULT, a collaborative installation including a luxurious 70 foot limousine, immersive sculptural and video installations with performances,The Culinary Equalizer, and interactive sacrificial deep frying at The Main Concessions.
Collaborators: Sarah Dahlinger Micah Synder Will Owen Ryan Davis Todd Irwin Jonathan Sims Juan Twin MG
Performances by: Eleni Zaharopoulos Michael O'Malley Jaimie Warren
Springboard Collective’s ice cream extravaganza at Flux Factory. Included 13 artist made hand cranked ice cream flavors, live churned ice cream, audience participatory plaster ice cream sculpture making, video installation, soft serve environment ft. Stand-up comedy by NYC comedian Rachel Joan, and DJ Fade Sunshine.
Collaborators: Sarah Dahlinger Micah Synder
Special thanks to: Matt Hannon, Juniper Nova, Alex Nathanson, Lee Tusman, Lyoudmila Milanova, and Ryan Davis
Whoop Dee Doo is a traveling, artist-led project and non-profit organization that creates ambitious installations and live performances internationally, generally through universities, festivals, arts organizations, and museums. Each project and accompanying programming are uniquely crafted to fit the needs of the organizations with which we partner, engaging their immediate communities. We work closely with underserved youth groups to research, conceive and create our projects. Our process emphasizes collaboration, encourages respect for diversity, and seeks to initiate a cross-generational and cross-cultural dialogue.
Collaborators: Jason Eppink, Larissa Hayden, and Sarah Dahlinger
Springboard Collective at The Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, OH. In Total Limbo, we imagine liminal spaces between worlds of color, material, and form. We created a stainless steel maze, a soft mountain, a video projection ship, and strobe infinity. The immersive and interactive installation also included an acapella soundscape created by the artists.
Artists include: Danny Crump, Sarah Dahlinger, Barry O’Keefe, Micah Snyder, and Steph Wadman. Contributing artists Todd Irwin, and Boni Parker.
Springboard Collective Artists include: Danny Crump, Sarah Dahlinger, Barry O’Keefe, Micah Snyder, Steph Wadman, Siavash Tohidi and Todd Irvin.
Springboard Collective Artists include: Danny Crump, Sarah Dahlinger, Barry O’Keefe, Micah Snyder, Steph Wadman and Todd Irwin.
Sound Cave. Wood, cardboard, paint, flocking. Installed for Pink Noise Salon @ Flux Factory - http://www.fluxfactory.org/news/pink-noise-salon/
To support and promote emerging artists through residencies, exhibitions, and collaborative opportunities; build sustainable artist networks; and help retain creative forces in New York City. http://www.fluxfactory.org
Exhibitions
MFA Exhibition, Seigfred Art Gallery, Athens, OH
Exhibition at The Brink Gallery, Missoula MT, April 2011.
Visit Gallery website
My work examines how everyday objects and images construct collective identities that form the structure of our culture. I look for objects that are so visually present on the surface of our society, that they almost reach the point of disappearing. Through material transformation, I reassign their value and visibility through unexpected and overlapping signifiers. Coaxing materials and forms to act as venn diagrams, I make entirely new images by combining elements of one thing with elements of other things that still bear trace of their origins and respective auras.
In our materially saturated culture we are exposed to an endless feed of products and images. I look to pop culture, corporate branding, and my own personal autobiography to find meaning in objects that are iconic, yet verge on inevitable obsolescence. Socially, these objects reveal an alarming rate of production and consumption, and I make work that responds to these political relationships. I choose signifiers that represent actual economies built around their reality, but feed on the connotations of their second order signification. These connotations are the cultural fabric of identity.
I believe in the power of the dimensional aspects of sculpture to reveal information slowly. My sculptures play with archival and ephemeral facades, creating unstable and ambiguous ideas that leave room for the viewer to pull apart, or relish in their absurdity and excess. I rely on learning many crafts and technologies to imbue my work with nuanced evidence of my personal values. I aim to create a context where new questions are asked of the viewer. Extending from these ideas, my video works are portals that show a temporal relationship between action and material. Carefully framing these contexts, I seek to activate the objects I make, often using my own body. Both the dimensional and temporal aspects of my work create shifting images that slip in and out of collective visual knowledge. I combine these aspects with my idiosyncratic affinities that both affirm and subvert the everydayness of their encounter.
Danny Crump is visual artist working in sculpture, video and ceramics. His practice explores how everyday objects and images construct collective identities that form the structure of culture. Looking toward objects so visually present on the surface of society that they almost reach the point of disappearing, he reassigns their value and visibility through material transformation and unexpected overlapping signifiers. He holds an MFA from Ohio University and has completed residencies in China, New Zealand, Hungary and the US. His work been included in over fifty exhibitions in the past five years.