{"id":1436,"date":"2025-08-26T13:54:42","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T13:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/?p=1436"},"modified":"2025-08-26T15:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T15:59:39","slug":"yuji-agematsu-arranges-street-debris-into-tiny-daily-sculptures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/26\/yuji-agematsu-arranges-street-debris-into-tiny-daily-sculptures\/","title":{"rendered":"Yuji Agematsu Arranges Street Debris into Tiny Daily Sculptures"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Yuji<\/p>\n

Each day, Yuji Agematsu<\/a> takes a walk for the explicit purpose of scouring the streets. The dried leaf, lost toy, and even the wad of gum discarded on a park bench are his treasures, which he retrieves and places in the clear cellophane that wraps a pack of cigarettes. Although Agematsu no longer smokes, this habit of wandering and collecting has been harder to break: he\u2019s been committed to it since 1996.<\/p>\n

Once tucked inside the thin envelope, the artist\u2019s findings become an homage to the beauty of the mundane. He arranges trash and other findings almost like ikebana, using a glass shard or cracked stick to find balance and harmony. Objects others would barely notice are materials that represent the human condition and contemporary concerns. In Agematsu\u2019s eyes, they reveal a whole host of insights about our individual and collective lives.<\/p>\n

\"leaves,
11.22.24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Judd Foundation<\/a> presents two years\u2019 worth of Agematsu\u2019s sculptures in the aptly titled 2023\u20132024<\/em>, an exhibition presented at 101 Spring Street in SoHo and Gavin Brown<\/a>\u2019s home on Lenox Avenue in Harlem. The Spring Street space is the former home and workspace of Donald Judd<\/a>, a building Agematsu managed for two decades.<\/p>\n

Presented chronologically, each piece is cleverly positioned on a white, aluminum shelf to resemble a monthly calendar. Given the artist\u2019s decades-long dedication, the ongoing project has offered several revelations. As Agematsu told The New York Times<\/a><\/em> earlier this year:<\/p>\n

\n

Found objects have more power. We can see so many varieties of how to change the shape and color. Weather makes change. Also human ego. Because of the chewing gum, I notice that laughing chewing gum, angry chewing gum, are all different. We make a different shape from a different mood.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While the \u201czips,\u201d as the artist refers to them, are small\u2014about 3.5 x 2.5 x 2 inches\u2014they have the ability to capture conditions so much bigger than any one person. For example, a rainy spring day might leave a layer of mud and condensation pooling at the bottom of the plastic, while wrappers for particular kinds of candy might indicate the cultural makeup of a neighborhood. <\/p>\n

\"leaves,
3.14.24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this way, the pieces are also a visual diary of what humans control and don\u2019t, and how the innumerable forces impacting our lives appear in even the tiniest remnants.<\/p>\n

2023-2024<\/em> is on view through August 30.<\/p>\n

\"leaves,
10.25.24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"wire,
11.10.24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
4.19.24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
4.3.24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"leaves,
12.7.24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a<\/figure>\n
\"wire,
11.16.24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a<\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Yuji Agematsu Arranges Street Debris into Tiny Daily Sculptures<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each day, Yuji Agematsu takes a walk for the explicit purpose of scouring the streets. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1436"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1450,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436\/revisions\/1450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}