Aerosol can “Compressions”— on left, Néocid insecticide, 1968; on right, Odorono deodorant, 1972
A French artist, better known for his sculptures of compressed cars, César Baldaccini (or simply César) also compressed quite a bit of consumer packaging. Mostly this is beverage packaging, although there are also some compressed spray cans (above) and I’ve seen at least one compressed cardboard carton.
His bio on Wikipedia notes that his father owned a bar and was also “cooper”(someone who made barrels). I like to think that these facts may have figured into César’s consideration of packaging as an artifact & objet d’art.
Two smaller “Compressions”: wine corks (1972) on the left; bottle caps (1990) on the right
Coca-Cola “Compressions”—aluminum cans on the left; melted bottles on the right
(More of César’s “Compressions,” after the fold…)
Coca-Cola “Compressions”—aluminum cans on the left; melted bottles on the right
Four soda can “Compressions” (photo at lower right is from SkorpioLife’s Flickr Photostream)
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