“Perfection is satisfying, but failure is engaging, venturing into the unknown. …
The ‘perfection’ lies in the failure of accuracy; anything else would be romantic fiction.”
TATE ETC 1 JANUARY 2010, If at first you don't succeed, celebrate, Failure, LISA LE FEUVRE [online] At: https://www.tate.org.uk/tate-etc/issue-18-spring-2010/if-first-you-dont-succeed-celebrate (Accessed 27.11.2023)
Roman Signer
“Signer’s work explores the relationships between sudden energy releases and calm, between order and chaos, and the existence of form in the apparently formless. Physical forces like gravitation and motor energies are both a challenge to the artist and the instruments he relies on to realize his sculptural ideas.” Roman Signer [online] At: https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2805-roman-signer/ (Accessed 27.11.2023)
Countdown, March 16 – March 30, 2008, CCS Bard Galleries [online] At: https://ccs.bard.edu/museum/exhibitions/44-countdown (Accessed 27.11.2023)
Peter Fischli and David Weiss
Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go 1987 Film still, Camera: Pio Carradi, Courtesy Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich © Peter Fischli and David Weiss
Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster
"I always look for experimental processes. I like the fact that at the beginning I don't know how to do things and then, slowly, I start learning. Often exhibitions don't give me this learning possibility anymore." Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster born 1965, TATE [online] At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/dominique-gonzalez-foerster-10354 (Accessed 27.11.2023)
Robert Smithson Partially Buried Woodshed 1970
„This work fulfilled Smithson’s long-held desire to bury a building and allow for its decomposition. The old woodshed was already in existence on the Kent State campus - Smithson piled earth atop the structure until the center beam cracked. After the infamous shooting of unarmed student protestors by the National Guard, someone anonymously painted “MAY 4 KENT 70” on a horizontal beam in commemoration. The structure was partially burned down in 1978, causing further collapse. At present, all that remains of the piece is the concrete foundation and a large mound of dirt.“ marian goodman [online] At: https://www.mariangoodman.com/content/feature/78/detail/image4316/ (Accessed 27.11.2023)
WHAT IS LEFT OF THE PARTIALLY BURIED WOODSHED EMERGES FROM THE FOLIAGE AFTER 45 YEARS [online] At: https://www.kent.edu/einside/news/what-left-partially-buried-woodshed-emerges-foliage-after-45-years (Accessed 27.11.2023)
I agree, with the claims that failure opens up new ways and opportunities, and involves more than perfection, the mistake can recall something from the past. The artists presented use the incident of chance and work on the verge of failure in creating art.
My personal attitude toward failure is a search for a solution and correction. For me, unfortunately, failure comes from a lack of recognition in my work. Failure to contact people, galleries and artists. This is more of a mental feeling and it is much more difficult to work with it than with experiment and chance in art. So I would add this phrase - If at first you don't succeed, celebrate and keep working.
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