Artist Tom Sachs on judging the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2017
From his Manhattan studio, artist Tom Sachs reveals why he voted for Dyson’s hairdryer....
A visit to Tom Sachs’ Lower Manhattan studio is akin to entering one of his bricolage installations. Everywhere there is evidence of his enthusiasms, with towers of tools and raw materials and even stacks of trainers.
Sachs has become known for his often humorous handmade remodelling of contemporary icons. Examples include his various NASA space missions, recreating everything from landing modules to space rovers and astronaut suits in meticulous but imperfect detail, and with novel additions too – one of his lunar modules included a vodka bar.
Last year, Sachs notes, was one of the ‘biggest years the studio has ever had’, and in 2017 he wants to ‘focus on making the studio safer but also more conducive to making sculpture’. Safety, he says, starts with replacing his 25-year-old Powermatic table saw with a SawStop one.
This is no small matter for an industrial design hobbyist, as Sachs describes himself. ‘Design is a difficult word in that it means everything and nothing,’ he says. ‘Innovation is an addiction and just because you can, you shouldn’t.’
His voting card for the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2017 was scribbled with notes. The ‘Supersonic’ hairdryer by Dyson and the ‘PF1000U’ projector by LG really caught his eye. ‘The Dyson lived up to my hero-worship bias. It did not let me down,’ says Sachs. ‘This is a man that is dedicated to wind, and things that blow and things that suck. This little hairdryer is very light and very powerful for how quiet it is.’
He continues: ‘The reason I like the LG projector is the idea is really cool. [Projectors] are just never bright enough. I’d like someone to come to my house and install blackout curtains in my living room, because that’s what I would really need.’
As originally featured in the February 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*215)
INFORMATION
See the shortlist and the winners of Design Awards 2017 in full here, including our extra-special Judges’ Awards
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Remembering Richard Serra (1938-2024), American art’s man of steel
American artist Richard Serra, whose vast sculptures transformed landscapes around the world, has died aged 85
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Architectural gardens around the world to soothe the soul
From small domestic gardens, to nature reserves, urban interventions and local parks, here are some of the finest green projects that place nature at their heart
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Corfu hotel Domes Miramare redefines beachfront bliss
Make like Jackie O at Corfu hotel Domes Miramare, a property with contemporary luxury and echoes of 1960s glamour in spades
By Bridget Downing Published