His most famous installation (Cavemanman) – Thomas Hirschhorn

Thomas Hirschhorn (b. 1957) is a popular artist from Bern, Switzerland. He worked as a ‘Graphic Designer’ in Paris in the late eighties and rose to fame for his installations in which he uses common everyday materials such as plastic wrap, silver or foil, duct tape, cardboard, mirror, etc. TV/Computer Monitors and driftwood to name a few. He likes to use these items in his work, because he thinks they are non-artistic and have a universal touch. “Cavemanman”, created in 2002 at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery in New York, has been his most famous work to date.

For this remarkable work of art, an entire gallery space was converted into a cave. The cave is huge with its entire surface covered with packing tape. The entrance to Thomas’s “Caveman” looks like a hole in the wall. It is intriguing and generates immense curiosity in viewers as they enter. In keeping with his contemporary installation style, Hirschhorn has used common objects we encounter every day, along with books, posters, and dolls to create this great work of art. Thomas has also adorned it with a variety of philosophical and ‘pop’ culture symbols. The entire cave is illuminated with fluorescent lamps. The human figures depicted in “Caveman” are actually mannequins wrapped in aluminum foil. These figures are shown connected to fake dynamite, which in turn is connected to some political books. These books include paperbacks by Rousseau, David Hume, and Tocqueville.

Thus, with physically connected cables and tubes, Hirschhorn has tried to show an association between ordinary people and written philosophy. Each chamber of the cave represents some philosophy. The innermost chamber of “Cavemanman” has the feel of a teenager’s bedroom, with posters of Tupac Shakur, a topless Pamela Anderson, and various marching bands all atop the jagged, cardboard-and-plastic rock walls. Empty cans are scattered everywhere in this section. Apart from this, the walls are covered with photocopies of chapters related to topics such as public health and globalization. An equation expressed as “1 man = 1 man” is repeatedly painted on all the walls.

It took about eight people to build the “Caveman” in two weeks. Its magnificence and opulence speak volumes about the hard work that went into its construction. The mind-blowing references to vices such as ubiquitous oppression in society and the messages that show the essence of equality among men make this ‘Contemporary Art’ piece a real winner. Hirschhorn’s sculptures, installations and videos have always had audiences flocking to see them in numerous exhibitions (individual and group), throughout the United States and Central Europe.