THOMASDEMAND(b. 1964)Room (Raum).Signed, titled and dated "Thomas Demand 1994 Raum" on the reverse. C-print mounted with Diasec.72 x 106 in. (182.9 x 269.2 cm).Executed in 1995.This work is from an edition of five.Provenance
Galerie Tanit, MunichExhibited
London, Victoria Miro Gallery, January 18-February 24, 1995 (another example exhibited);
Kunsthaus Zurich, March 28-May 24, 1998;
Kunsthalle Bielefeld, June 7-September 6, 1998, Thomas Demand, n.p. (another example exhibited; Illustrated);
Oktogon der Hochschule für Dresden, October 2-November 5, 2000;
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Kunstverien für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, November 24, 2000-January 14, 2001, p. 10 (illustrated);
New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Thomas Demand, March 4-May 30, 2005, p. 45 (another example exhibited; illustrated)Literature
"Thomas Demand", Art Monthly, March 3, 1995, p. 184;
"Art Preview: Thomas Demand," Timeout London, February 8-15, 1995, no. 1277;
B. Bürgi, ed., Thomas Demand, Zurich/Bielefeld, 1998, n.p. (illustrated);
K. Schmidt Rottluff, Thomas Demand, Dresden, 2000, p. 10 (illustrated);
J. Heiser, "The Neutron Bomb Effect", Parkett, No. 62, 2001, p. 141;
R. Marcoci, Thomas Demand, New York 2004, p. 45 (illustrated)Thomas Demand embraces the idea of photography as a tool by which to manipulate our sense of reality. He draws upon the countless images of historical events floating in the boundless sea that is the mass media. His works reference events and images that have a sense of familiarity. They tap into the collective consciousness of his viewing audience. However the manner by which he chooses to illustrate or re-create these scenes or events is not complete. The constructed reality, although rooted in the "real world" and depicting scenes that most individuals are familiar with now become alien. It is this manipulation of memory and reconstitution of reality that Make Demand's works so appealing.

Demand's works themselves are merely record, memories of an original object that no longer exists- a record of a record based upon a record. He begins his process by choosing an idea, an image of an event in recent history, one that can be related to by a broad audience. From this initial image he constructs an model of the scene with cut paper and cardboard. The end result is an exact replica of the event illustrated in the initial photograph only with a few minor changes. He never includes figures; one, the task of recreating a realistic replica of the figure is not an easily accomplished task when using cut paper as your material of choice and secondly, in introducing the figure the focus and overall feel of the work would become shifted.

On July 20, 1944, members of a group of Nazi conspirators intent on eliminating Adolf Hitler and usurping power over the Nazi war machine made their seventh and final attempt on the dictator's life. The attempted bombing failed to succeed in its mission, however news of the attempt spread and images of the scene were circulated. The present lot Raum is a recreation of the room, where this attempted assassination occurred, based upon media photographs.

This scene of carnage is displayed as a pared down version of reality. Forms within the room are broken done to their base elements. Windows, tables, chairs , cabinets are all identifiable but Demand made the nature of the material that they are constructed from obvious. One can plainly tell that certain objects have been fabricated from paper. Despite its simplified nature one still can still feel the obvious magnitude of the situation. With the same eye for detail that a forensic scientist might have when dissecting a crime scene, Demand has analyzed this situation and all of its minutia.