Rirkrit Tiravanija - Foster, You're Dead

Robert Longo's The Sickness of Reason reminded me of this great interactive installation at Macro (museo d'arte contemporanea Roma) - Foster, You're Dead (2008), a collaborative project between artist Rirkrit Tiravanija and architect Neil Logan.

Tiravanija's art explores the idea of exchange and relationships, and his past installations have involved actvities like cooking, reading, and playing music. Foster, You're Dead comprises two shelves stacked with 110 boxes of jigsaw puzzles, which people can remove and play with at a nearby table. The installation was inspired by the Philip K. Dick story of the same name, describing an American family who are ridiculed because they are too poor to afford an atomic shelter.

Each puzzle depicts a different nuclear explosion. The power of each is directly proportional to the number of pieces that need to be put together: some puzzles have over 500 pieces, while others have only one. It was such a great way of communicating the power of these explosions, and one which had a resounding impact on the puzzle-player. So. cool.