Tom Sachs

American, born 1966

© 2008 Tom Sachs

Trojan, 2008

Cast silicon bronze and photo-etching with ammonium sulfide, edition 3/5
88 x 30 x 18 inches (223.5 x 76.2 x 45.7 cm)
Gift of Mrs. George A. Forman, by exchange, 2008

Tom Sachs appropriates objects commonly found within the public domain or commercial marketplace and transforms them into artworks that address consumer culture.

Trojan is part of a series of cast bronze works made from found car batteries stacked on top of each other. The series was originally commissioned for an exhibition at Lever House—the first modernist New York City skyscraper, built in 1952 by architect Gordon Bunshaft—and subtly references the work of Isamu Noguchi, who was originally commissioned to create sculptures for Lever House.

While Trojan takes on the austere qualities of a minimalist sculpture, its recognizable imagery immerses the work into a consumerist society that is driven by brand recognition.