The idea of OBJECTS Found and Claimed came to the artists Richard Borge and John Borge, when they both realized that they each work with found objects. Although the brothers have a totally different creative process and styles, both create something new, claiming the object as their own. “We share a fascination with finding objects – that become subject matter in the creation of new work.”, Richard commented.
©Richard Borge
As an illustrator, Richard Borge commonly uses found objects in his work, often creating work built in a sculptural environment.
Richard: “I am always finding beauty and oddness in objects, usually when I am not looking for it. Working with found and created objects has been a passion for my entire career, and I find that a large part of what I do as an artist is find (and expose) beauty in ugly things. My fascination with old surfaces and textures comes largely from the sense of time and history that it gives off. For example, a merry-go-round that has been in use for 20 years will have a much different energy that a brand new merry-go-round. Through the wear and tear marks on the surface, repaired parts, repainting and modifications, we will see a story and get us a sense of time not found in a new one. This story and sense of time gives it a certain “life”, not yet breathed into the shiny new merry-go-round. This can be in the form of a rusty surface, a distorted shape or a distressed toy. When working with a found objects, it generally gets modified and tweaked until I feel it’s mine (claimed).”
©Richard Borge
“My work will be primarily large archival limited edition prints of objects, toys, masks etc. that are created via a combination of sculpting and assembling found objects. I will show both prints of the objects (sculptures) as well as some of the actual objects (sculptures) themselves.”
©Richard Borge
As a photographer, John Borge builds still life imagery in the studio from objects found, and from objects in their existing environment.
©John Borge
John: “When I first began working in the photographic medium, I was drawn to the nearly instant gratification of being able to record a scene and reproduce it as a photograph in a matter of hours. Much of the process was simply recording a scene – a group of objects, an activity, a pretty face – more than thinking of it as creating something new. Over time my vision has evolved into a sense of creating a new thing – not just recording something that already exists. In building a still life, I often work in the opposite direction as Richard and deconstruct the setting, simplify it to make it clearer in meaning. My fascination with working with found objects is different than Richard’s in that I often go out and search for a specific type of object, bring it back to my studio and recreate it using light and shadow. In addition, the idea of claiming a found object carries through to the process of creating a still life with objects found on location, through the use of light, angle and placement of objects within the camera frame.”
©John Borge
“My work will mostly smaller prints in the 16×20 range with 3-4 large (30×40)0 prints. large prints using a variety of photographic methods – Polaroid prints, silver gelatin prints, watercolor prints – of found objects.”
©John Borge
Richard and John have both worked as professional creatives for over 25 years – most often in the digital environment. It was when they each started creating work on Instagram that their discussion of this idea of claiming a found object as their own began. “This method of instantly creating new work and publishing it worldwide in a matter of seconds – we make a new thing, a new piece of art and claim it to as our own brought to the light the idea that this is what we each have always done in our separate creative lives – claimed found objects as our own, re-creating them as a new thing.”, says Richard Borge.
Small archival rag paper prints of both Borges Instagram feeds will be woven throughout the exhibit. These small prints will show a certain similarity in the way they both see the world and will help to bridge both their visions.
Biographies
Both Richard and John were born on the island of Madagascar – albeit 8(?) years apart. Both attended high school in Fargo, ND and both are graduates of Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. Both have built their careers in the field of graphic communication for advertising and promotion. Richard has been based in New York the past 20 years, John in Fargo.
©Richard Borge
While in graduate school at University of Arizona in Tuscon, Richard’s career path went in the direction of illustration /design, and most recently motion design / animation. A self-taught photographer, assignments led John through journalism, documentary work and finally to the field of advertising and promotion. Both have received numerous awards and accommodations for their work and continue to work as professional creatives in their fields.
Richard Borge and John Borge’s Objects Found & Claimed exhibit’s opening reception is this Friday, May 16, 2014, 5:30-7:00pm at the Rourke Art Museum Moorhead, Minnesota.
To see more of Richard Borge’s work please visit his website and Altpick.com page and John Borge’s work also visit to his website.
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Congratulations to both of you!
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Have a nice time at the exhibit today!
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