In Paperwo r k a nd the Will of Capital, Taryn Simon (bo r n 1975)--one of the most o r iginal a nd challenging conceptual artists of our time--brings together geopolitics, ho r ticultural science a nd the art of still life to investigate how the stagecraft of power is created, perfo r med, marketed a nd maintained. At signings of political acco r ds, contracts, treaties a nd decrees deter In Paperwo r k a nd the Will of Capital, Taryn Simon (bo r n 1975)--one of the most o r iginal a nd challenging conceptual artists of our time--brings together geopolitics, ho r ticultural science a nd the art of still life to investigate how the stagecraft of power is created, perfo r med, marketed a nd maintained. At signings of political acco r ds, contracts, treaties a nd decrees determining some of the gravest issues of our time, powerful men flank flo r al centerpieces curated to convey the impo r tance of the signato r ies a nd represented institutions. Simon reconstituted a nd photographed the flower arrangements fr om archival images of key events, she then dried a nd pressed the flowers as herbarium specimens. This sumptuous book, part nature study, part metapho r , bears witness to an elabo r ate a nd intriguing process of artistic deconstruction a nd reconstruction.
-These flowers sat between powerful men as they signed agreements designed to influence the fate of the wo r ld.- --Taryn Simon