Thomas Hirschhorn (Phaidon Contemporary Artist Series)

Thomas Hirschhorn is a Swiss-born artist who emerged in the 1990s, noted for his giant, labour-intensive, room-sized collages of low-grade materials. Tinfoil, cardboard, plywood, plastic and packing tape bring together an infinite variety of debris, including handwritten texts and images culled from popular magazines; miniature toy aeroplanes and trains; knick-knacks by the hundreds; armies of plastic 'gold' watches; household fans blowing red flags which flutter violently; monitors duct-taped into vitrines, ad infinitum.
Noted professor and art thinker Benjamin H. D. Buchloh surveys the artist's work from its earliest, anonymous beginnings in the streets of Paris to his recent, virtuoso installations as part of a long tradition of politically-motivated anti-monuments. In her interview, Alison M. Gingeras, who has worked with Hirschhorn since 2000, discusses with the artist his beginnings as a graphic artist, and his more recent dealings with the contemporary art system. Carlos Basualdo offers a full analysis of, as well as little-known background on, Bataille Monument, at Documenta 11, which Basualdo co-curated.