Thomas Mann Design - Traveling Exhibits

[EVERYDAY OBJECTS] is a response to the sheer amount of discarded and recycled objects in the world today. Mann had the idea of making everyday objects out of unusual materials in order to focus on the issue of the objects themselves. At the same time, as his interest in discarded and recycled objects peaked, Mann had some questions about how objects are valued - and priced - by our culture. How does a "manufaturer's suggested retail price" come to pass? In this show the objects are priced at a suggested retail price, and a street price, to engage this question. Some of the objects explored include a telephone, TV and a hairdryer.

[The OXIDATION BURIAL project] started out as an investigation of the natural elements on art and materials that make up the art. It has developed into discussions of time, the millenium and changes of what is perceived as art. Many artists have donated pieces to be buried in one of the 20 boxes. The art has been buried in one of three mediums: earth, water, and air. The twentieth box is to be buried in fire on the eve of the year 2000.

[4.2.3.D] - think/draw/make is a statement about the process of creating jewelry and other objects. The show consists of four panels (34 x 40 x 4) that are, in reality, shadow boxes. Inside the boxes are drawings, both conceptual ideas and final execution plans, and samples of the Techno-Romantic vocabulary (such as laminated plastics and found metal parts). There are also tools and finished pieces of jewelry. All of these drawings and objects are accompanied by descriptions of their use and creation.

[SPACE FRAME MIRRORS] The creation of the SPACE FRAME MIRRORS has reflected Mann's career as a whole. It seems that his career as an artist has been about different scales of work. When the idea of designing a collection of mirrors presented itself in 1996, he naturally started with the models. Working from small-scale models he constructed the mirrors on the scale of 1":1'. It was then that Mann realized that these were not only models for full scale mirrors but that they were also models for jewlery.