Paul Thek was exhibited in the Modern institue during the GI (Glasgow International) in 2012. The exhibition entitled "If you don't like this book you don't like me." An exhibition shows the artist's private journals and pictures of his studio. As an artist in 60s, it seems that inevitably he carries a burden with his uncombed hair and week but determined voice which you can hear in his interview video at the 2nd floor.
I decided to talk about his hair and AIDS rather than his artwork since the exhibition is mainly based on his private journals and drawings. He was famous for his hyper realistic sculpture of himself dead, after one exhibit in Germany, the sculpture was lost or destroyed by anonymous or simply just disappeared at the end of shipping. It has arrived where it suppose to be, but Paul never came to pick it up. Some people said that it is because he doesn't want it to be exhibit ever again, some said that it is also because he was disappointed about the work didn't sell.
THe exhibition in Modern institue was mainly focus on Paul Thek's personal journal. These private journals downstairs takes me to different places that Paul has ever visited, and the things that he saw and drew and everything that he decided to take notes for. He is not a very good drawer I would say. It is nothing precise about his drawing, there are several pages that he simply just marked lines in contrast with the ink line belongs to the notebook itself. These private journal marked the Paul's life such as his breakfasts list or some questions has yet been made.
He seems to be a mediator constantly shifting between different values, sexs, dimensions or even more. He creates environmental art and installation, trying to build up dialogues between art and life, when art was getting more a mannerism in the US, he was trying to bring it to a state where art can meet with life, and being experienced more domestically. He himself is a bisexual, sexual orientation is not for a single gender but depends on who you feel right with, he looks as if he pays a lot of attention to his body, you can not see much extra fat on his arms, and he is really fit, wearing a tight tank top. But he is definitely thinner than any men who does weight training would like to be. His voice is solid and certain, but his looks give you a feeling that he might faint in any second, or scream out loud on nothing.
His famous piece is the life scale of himself, a dead body. He creates and give birth to his death. Experiencing the last journey by creating a possible representation of himself and then choose to lost it in a box. A man who constantly in dialogue with things, with nature, with politics, and with rules.
I have always hated how there is a subject in academic institution called communication, or the sales man in Rocky horror picture show that shakes your hands with over performing friendly attitude.
Even if I saw and listen to Paul Thek's journals and interviews, I would never being able to fully understand his thoughts or what he been through metaphysically. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't change the fact that we basically living in a total different time and space.
Should we abandon these history because they pull us back when we were being forced by time to move forward? Can anybody give me any answer?
All photos were copied from The Modern Institute.
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