Art Object / The Whipped Cream Whisk

Beschrijving

Art Object. The Whipped Cream Whisk (de slagroom klopper)
Maaike Gottschal 2018. Unica.
Ready made with twined alpaca, silk, cotton and and merino threads.

The object is part of the research project: Playing Ping Pong With Kami, 2018

The object is a tribute to beautiful objects that stay with us for a long time. The object is made “to dust off” old objects. The cords of the mob have reference to Quipu. Quipus (Quechua: khipu) were a type of cords with knots used by the Incas to convey all kinds of information. For centuries the quipus were a mystery. Until the 1970s, it was believed that quipus were a kind of abacus used to document the accounts and administration of the Inca empire. Subsequently, evidence emerged that quipus also contain much more complex information and are in fact a type of script. There is also reference to the Japanese Ōnusa.

Find some more background information here on how it relates to bookkeeping and computer science.

When I tidy up my studio, I pass all the objects in it. Do they have to be there? Are they in the right place? Is there enough open space to create? Cleaning means taking care of all the angles and small details. Rearrange and redefine the space. It is an exercise that clears the mind. For official purification rituals in Shinto, that are used to release energy from objects, a mob-like object; the Ōnusa, is used. As a designer, an artist, I think it’s a lovely idea to use a ritual to reactivate an existing object. Objects are time machines. They have the dreams of their maker in them (past), and (if they have sufficient quality) they evoke ideas for new use (future).

See here the publication on the research done so far ICI