Mungo Thomson
Wall Window or Bar Sign (Insanity is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over and Expecting Different Results)
2014
Mungo Thomson, Wall Window or Bar Sign (Insanity is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over and Expecting Different Results), 2014. Neon, Installation view.
Starting with Bruce Nauman’s iconic artwork, The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths (Window or Wall Sign), Mungo Thomson’s neon sign is one of a series that replaces Nauman’s quixotic mini-manifesto with aphorisms from ‘recovery’ culture, especially those made popular by alcoholics anonymous. Thomson is referencing the lore that Nauman’s work (the first of many neons he’d make in the following years) had been inspired by a neon beer sign found in a corner-store in San Francisco that he used as his studio in the late 60s. This particular work has a self-critical subtext, as it also suggests the act of using another artist’s work, in an endless spiral of influence, is akin to a form of insanity.
Mungo Thomson is a conceptual artist whose practice reveals a fascination with time, space, music, and perceptual phenomena. Engaging with the nuances of the everyday and the overlooked, his diverse body of work encompasses various media, including video, sound, sculpture, and installation. Thomson's art privileges backgrounds: material (the white walls), institutional (the gallery), as well as historical, exploring the contexts that frame and influence perception. His innovative approach often involves recontextualizing mundane elements, prompting viewers to reconsider their surroundings and experiences. Employing intellectual rigor and aesthetic depth, Thomson invites audiences to engage with the underlying structures that shape our understanding of the world.