A Look At The Estranged Mr. Tom Sachs

"Work like a slave, order like a king, create like a god," the many quips and quotes from Mr. Tom Sachs paint a picture of genius that is harrowing, yet strangely inspiring. A sculptor by trade, his workshop named "The Studio," specializes in creating unique art pieces drawing inspiration from all sources in pop culture and our modern society.
But Mr. Sachs himself is a character I find fascinating. He has a view and outlook on art and society that is really unique, and he finds appreciation for the most simple objects in every day life. "I want labor to be the point, because everything in our lives is miraculously made with no idea of how it's done. As an active and critical consumer, and as someone who has attempted to make the flawless and failed, I wanted a transparency of construction here. If we know how it is made and how it falls apart, we will know how to rebuild it." One of his main rules for creation is that an object has to show that it was made by a real person, unlike the pristine, nearly perfect objects like Iphones that surround us every day. He stipulates that plywood is always painted before cutting, so that the bare edges are exposed.

Simple rules like these demonstrate extreme forethought, and this mentality of appreciating every detail in creation is something I attempt to use myself. Over the years I have watched almost every film he has created, every interview he has given, and have just a sort of strange obsession with his work that I cannot explain or justify. Just yesterday I even purchased a pair of shoes he created in collaboration with Nike at great personal expense. And the more I see, read, and hear from him, the more my appreciation grows. His work really is unique in today's art landscape, and I think it is more important now than every as our obsession with brand and status seems to be growing.