ART: Larger Than You

Giant art has been a much loved illusion from the ancient Egyptian era till today, but why is it that we love seeing things so much larger than ourselves?  Texas would say it just is better that way. Freud would conclude the notion is derived from our baby universe, when we looked up to others with powers of vast magnitude that we did not have.  Here at The Couch Sessions we see our cultural captivation with larger-than-life as a sign of the widening global perspective and an increasing fascination with objects. Pushing the limits of scale allows us to bask in the details and focally contemplate their effects on our lives.

 

Here are some of our favorites at The Couch Sessions:

Simone Decker's Chewing in Venice sticks giant bubble-gum wads all over the Italian city.

 

Jonna Pohjalainen sat with her sketch book contemplating the landscape of Pedvale, Latvia until she decided to add her colored pencils to it all.

 

I myself was lucky enough to play with the world's largest fully functional Rubix Cube, the Groovik's Cube, when it was first displayed at the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert by Groovlabs.

 

Florentijn Hofman situated The Big Yellow Rabbit/Stor Gul Kanin in Orebro, Sweden.

 

A crumpled piece of paper falls from the sky, created by Neil Dawson in Gibbs Farm, New Zealand.

 

Monument to the Drowned/Monumento al Ahogado is a giant hand reaching out of the sand in Punta del Esta, Uruguay by Mario Irarrázabal.

 

Build your own large scale sculpture right here in New York out of records and record sleeves at the next Long Island City Block Party with Freestyle Art on September 8!