How is that art????

He has displayed this beautifully. Putting everything alike together make such an impact.

Not art. Think of it as a visual description of a psychological state. As the latter, it is fascinating. And in some ways, it's about everyone - that is, about our relationship with our Stuff.

That is so stunning. I'd love to see it in person.

I love it. I love art and I'm OCD to a degree, so I love this. The organization of things and colors and materials. Even just looking at the display of toothpaste and the way he arranged their colors. Not everyone will understand it. That's what modern art tends to be..a hit or a miss for people.

I love the color gatherings.
I could stare at this for days.

It looks too much like a garage sale to me...

It's art because it is an arrangement of materials which has been arranged and displayed in such a way that it creates meaning- is meant to be viewed and considered by an audience to discern that meaning (or at the ver least that viewer's own meaning as people are funny like that and draw their own meaning influenced by their own life.)

It's not as though the artist simply took a series of photos of the house (which would of course also be art, but in a defferent way), or brought the contents in their original arrangement in nature. These items were arranged to impact, to draw meaning. They create a portrait of a life, a commentary on consumption, a still life of apsychological condition, it all depends on the viewer.

Art is really about that visceral desire to show someone something in a way they perhaps had not considered and to preserve that thought or feeling to share it with others, more than it is about the medium in which it is rendered. (IMO anyway)

This looks like a yard sale on that TV show "Clean House". I mean, sure, I get it. And I have a bit of hoarder-fascination myself (which is why I watch Clean House). But this installation is not very original or uniquely thought-provoking.

Fascinating. Beyond what this says about the psychological root of hoarding, it makes an interesting statement about materialism in a time when our "stuff" got us into so much trouble (the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, credit card debt, bankruptcies, etc.).

...and another reason we appreciate it as art is simply because it occurred to Song Dong to do this.

When I saw the state of my grandmother's house at the end of her life, I wanted to create something that honored her and also commented on those things that were important to her and those of her generation. But I didn't--so I'm happy there are artists who have a vision and pursue it.

Art is meant to evoke an exchange of ideas. there are comments on this post, clearly it is art by that definition. GreatFriend, it seems as if you've never been to a modern art museum. I hope I'm wrong, but if not you should make a solo visit and challenge yourself to explain each piece.

looks like everything can do with a good clean. i#m glad i'm not a hoarder, its just too much stuff! who needs 30 toothpastes? once ur done through it out!

I agree with bonjourmiette in that this is art, but not the kind that hangs on a wall and looks pretty, but often art is a method of communication, a meaning and in this case, the artist is trying to show meaning by careful placement and catagorizing of such domestic items as spent toothpaste tubes to show us what happens when one hordes stuff - and that is what I see when I looked at the images shown here and I think part of it is the photographs themselves aren't doing the display justice.

I also agree art is a hit or miss thing with people and art installations are not meant to always be permanent, but to show for a short time something dramatic or impactful.

I also find it fascinating as what she horded over the years and it's also fun to be able to look back at what styles have come and gone.

A must see! I'll pay a visit. Thanks AT for this!

@zhenpoo

I believe you've missed the point completely.

i just bought a rowhouse in south philadelphia that was home to one hell of a hoarder... we hauled out over 5 tons of garbage and detritus over a few days... we did find some interesting things worth keeping... but sadly most of it had been destroyed by cat piss and neglect...

In response to the question of how this is art, a good and simple starting place is the wikipedia entry on installation art. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installation_art

Here's a good excerpt from the entry that I think applies to this work:

Essentially, installation/environmental art takes into account the viewer’s entire sensory experience, rather than floating framed points of focus on a “neutral” wall or displaying isolated objects (literally) on a pedestal. This leaves space and time as its only dimensional constants. This implies dissolution of the line between art and life; Kaprow noted that “if we bypass ‘art’ and take nature itself as a model or point of departure, we may be able to devise a different kind of art… out of the sensory stuff of ordinary life” (Kaprow 12).

This really is amazing and very, very powerful.

Beautifully stated, bonjourmiette. I hope to get myself to MOMA before September to see this installation! But now I feel like I need to empty and organize my closet.

I almost convulsed when I saw this. I hate clutter and I understand the cultural inclination to not waste anything but sometimes enough is enough.

I visited MoMA when this piece was being installed. I had only a limited time to be in the museum, so I took the elevator up to the top floor and started down. I could see this facinating assemblage sprawled out below me as I worked my way down the levels.

As it was time to leave the museum and there were floors and floors left to see, I hurried down to make sure I knew what the assemblage was all about. Information about the assemblage was not posted. It was clear from the objects that many of them were from Asia. The point about hoarding and the strange beauty of the hoarder couldn't have been better made. The colors and shapes of this assemblage are phenomenal. Believe me, people, this is really a wonderful work of art.

I have a beloved family member who is an extremely creative person but also a hoarder. I bought a copy of "Buried Treasures -- Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding" for her and for myself from Amazon.com. It was highly recommended by the New York Times and according to my relative, has been very helpful.

I find this really moving and I wonder how each item affected the artist's emotional state. I remember my mother's reactions as we went through my grandmother's things (my mother has hoarding issues) and how simple objects could produce powerful emotional responses, so I wonder how that translates to such an enormity of stuff.

As a recovering hoarder, I can appreciate this piece. What I find fascinating is the grandmother's obsession with the common cultural practice of "waste not" blinded her to the fact that she was actually wasting so much more-- namely, space. Assuming of course she never intended it as an art exhibition in her home. Of course, then enter the life/art question. Also, saving stuff isn't exactly "not wasting" it. It's just not throwing it away. Reusing it would have been not wasting it. But that's just me being snarky.

You call that hoarding?!

How is it art? It's in a gallery, an artist did it and people are going to see an art piece.

What is this, the 1800's? It's called installation.

Of course it's art. Whether or not it's successful or beautiful or effective... Well, that's subjective.

JoanneM wrote, "Not art. Think of it as a visual description of a psychological state."

I write, "But isn't that art?"

My mom has that much in her garage.

And some more in the barn.

And lots more in the house.

We visited yesterday. It was a very touching installation and it is the contemporary art piece that connected with me the most.

Thank you AT for covering this.