Thursday, September 25, 2008

Cabinet de Curiosites


The photographs from The Pulse related to artists' collections and studios made me think of Cabinets of Curiosity. Initially created in the sixteenth century, these are encyclopedic collections and displays of objects, often scientific, unusual, and exotic. I thought I would offer more photographs of both the outside of a number of my own "cabinets" and the insides housing some of the "curiosities" as initially seen in my own photographs from The Pulse.

This cabinet was found quite a number of years ago at a large outdoor flea market in NYC, which had been in an outdoor parking lot in Chelsea but has since been splintered up due to a high rise building.



This cabinet, all small drawers and brass pulls, was a lucky find at the Pier Antiques Show, a twice annual show with over 500 exhibitors held on Manhattan's west side piers.



An Ebay find, this watchmaker's cabinet was purchased filled with watch parts, watch faces, small glass vials, old labels, and a ton of other cool vintage bits and pieces.



Stored inside a series of Bisley metal cabinets are some of my art supplies including found objects and other art material...





...rubber stamps...




...distressed metal objects...



...rusty objects picked up anywhere and everywhere...




...and some favorite stones



And speaking of Cabinets of Curiosities, there is currently an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art called Wunderkammers: A Century of Curiosities. One amazing piece there was a large cabinet filled with all sorts of found objects. The artist is Mark Dion and the piece is entitled Rescue Archaeology. Fascinating.


29 comments:

SUZAN BUCKNER said...

Love the cabinets!!! And HEY! you gotta love a man that has his own rubber stamps!!LOL

ArtPropelled said...

Oh boy, this post has my heart racing. Such wonderful cabinets of stuff!

Anonymous said...

You're killing me over here with your flea finds.... I'm so close to hauling myself back up to LA for the weekend to hunt! My husband is on the way to NYC in November..can you imagine how he would react if I told him to bring me home a cabinet?!

firstborn studio said...

this is where the term "to die for" was coined.
amazing sight for sore eyes,you are a very lucky & deserving artist!

sarahelizabeth said...

Awesome post!! I'm jealous of your cabinets!!

Don Madden said...

Major eye candy!
Susan

postal orphan said...

The photos of your art supplies in the cabinets are art pieces in and of themselves! I love to see collections like this - makes me feel like I'm not alone in my hunting and gathering. Wonderful stuff!

Lisa H said...

Extreme Cabinet Envy.

This makes me realize that hey...your studio table doesn't need to look like an exploded view of a garage sale after all.

Very lovely, tidy, elegant.

Terry said...

Artwork in and of itself. Makes me want to go out and get more "stuff" and places to stuff it.

lynne h said...

wow, these cabinets seth... lovely to gaze upon.

Sherry Goodloe said...

oooooooohhhh ahhhhh rusty things - Love em all!!

azirca said...

I admit to being very fond of little cabinets that house tiny drawers. Yours are fabulous both inside and out!

Penelope said...

Oh to have that level of organisation in my studio! Hey, just ot have those cabinets would make me swoon, but all my bits are kept in a vast collection of broken-down and tattered chocolate boxes and biscuit tins! It's fun hunting through them every day, but it's distracting seeing all the other things on the way and getting side-tracked!

Gillian McMurray said...

Oh, look at those beautiful cabinets. I can just imagine all those fingers that have rubber the wood over the years, opening and closing the drawers. An absolute treasure trove.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Oh My!!!! cabinets and collections and beauty... and inspiration.. I love them!

Karen Cole said...

Dare I say, breathtakingly beautiful? Mark Dion has nothing on your collections, I would say.

Unknown said...

This is so timely...I am in the process of looking for cabinets and such to put in my new studio space...yay!! studio space!

Anonymous said...

these cabinets are sooooooo beautiful! love the green. amazing. and what about the drawers! how i wish to look through...

notmassproduced said...

jealous? me?

Terry said...

RE: notmassproduced's comment -
Oh, that says it all!

Mary Helen said...

I only have one but very special card catalog file filled with drawers that hold to secret to my soul and I love the smell when I open a drawer; it stimulates the soul to pick up and handle bits and pieces that become chapters in my assemblages and layered quilts. Imagine Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

Beachstudio said...

Seth, Your display of cabinets is awesome, thoughtprovoking and seriously wonderful. _Linda-

donna joy said...

love the cabinets....and cool stuff in them too!

Chris said...

How fab! I love nooks and crannies, and those lovely wood pieces. What a way to give everything a place. The storage is artwork, itself. I always try to imagine new york when I read your posts.

Ro Bruhn said...

I was drooling over the beautiful drawers and then saw the fabulous objects you have in them, I want to break through my computer screen and take a closer look.

Curious Art said...

Great post... I'm obsessed with both cabinets & curiosities, so I'm drooling over this one!

Seth said...

Thank you all for these wonderful comments. I think it would be great if we all got to see some of your own "cabinets de curiosities" on your blogs as well!!

Anonymous said...

I am in major search to find a cabinet from a printers shop or optician's office... I can see why I have not been successful. These are fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Oh my, Seth, you never cease to amaze me... the cabinets and the collections inside are to die for. I must tell you I was quite relieved to find out the gorgeous stainless cabinet was not among your private collection... otherwise I might have had to try to stear your attention elsewhere while I tried to figure out how to get my grimmy little paws on it!!! SO beautiful, thanks for sharing. Oh, and once again, your photos are stunning and incredibly crisp... makes looking at your site SO much fun! xoxo