For the majority of artists, their audience is incredibly important for their work. The audience is there to observe and interpret art, however, for Lawrence Malstaf, his audience is pretty much his art. Malstaf uses volunteers from his audience and allows them to become the art. His installation titled “Shrink!” involves “two large, transparent plastic sheets and a device that gradually sucks the air out from between them, leaving the body vacuum-packed and suspended.”(2) There is also a transparent tube which allows regular airflow around the volunteer and allows them to still breathe. The audience who are involved are still able to mover only their movements are slowed down causing them to look graceful. As Malstaf uses his audience as his work, his art would not be possible without his audience. This interactive piece is what draws in the audience and intrigues them to want to try it themselves. The installation almost seems impossible or dangerous to those viewing it, however, people who have participated have said “The panic was momentary”(1) but afterwards, “it’s a Zen-like experience, a way of slowing time, both for participant and viewer.”(1) This is both a piece of performance art and almost something of a sculpture. It is a way for us to see the human form in ways not thought possible.
Reference list
1.Micheal, C. (2010). I was shrinkwrapped for art. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/oct/05/shrinkwrapped-shrink-lawrence-malstaff.
2.the PhotoPhore. (2016). SHRINK by Lawrence Malstaf. [online] Available at: http://www.thephotophore.com/shrink-lawrence-malstaf/#:~:text=His%20work%20SHRINK%20consists%20of [Accessed 11 Apr. 2021].