Marc Petrovic at work in the studio.
GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet: What are you working on?
Marc Petrovic: I just finished a collaboration with Tim Tate. The piece is a nine-part installation entitled Apothecarium Moderne, and it will be displayed as part of the Museum of Arts and Design‘s show entitled “Dead or Alive” opening on April 27th.
This collaborative piece is a modern twist on apothecaries, and contains cures for nine modern-day ailments. It was a true collaboration in both labor, fabrication, and concept. I really enjoyed being able to add and subtract elements and ideas with another artist. It seemed to take some of the mental pressure off not having to come up with the entire concept and execution all on my own.
Marc Petrovic and Tim Tate collaborated on the concept and fabrication of this installation they have titled Apothecarium Moderne, to be unveiled at the Museum of Arts & Design on April 26th.
I often have input from my wife, Kari Russell-Pool, when I work on my own pieces, but I almost always execute my own pieces entirely by myself from start to finish. This was a lot of work, but a great experience.
The first step in the process was to cooperatively choose which ailments to “cure,”and then together (over the phone) suggest potential images and elements that would work within the parameters of each piece. After making quick sketches to visualize each bottle, we chose the individual bottle form and dimensions and each executed our list of parts. I was responsible for the blown and hot-sculpted components, and Tim made the cast and video components.
After a majority of the components were made I went to Tim’s studio in DC and we laid out all of our fabricated parts along with all our found objects. After we went over each bottle one at a time putting all of the parts for each bottle together to get a better visual of our concepts manifested, we then edited the pieces further and added or subtracted components to get them to work visually as well as to strengthen the concepts.
A detail of one of the nine elements in the Petrovic-Tate collaboration.
GLASS: What artwork have you experienced recently that has moved you, and got you thinking about your own work?
Marc: I recently visited a number of art museums in Washington DC and Toledo, Ohio where I saw a lot of work that interested me. But honestly, I don’t look primarily to other artwork for inspiration. I’m a maker of objects, and I like to infuse these objects and create this objects around ideas. I look to myself and my life for the source material, and I have been working this way since I graduated from CIA in 1991. I’m not sure I’ll always look to my own life for artistic expression and inspiration, but this is my source now.
GLASS: Do you have any upcoming exhibitions you can talk about?
Marc: My collaboration with Tim will be unveiled at the Museum of Arts and Design at the opening reception for the “Dead or Alive” exhibitionon on the evening of April 26th.
Andrew Page on Glass 