Untitled, 2014
Cardboard on wood
800 x 400 cm
A wonderful use of consumer packaging from Gerlinde Gruber & Christine Strempel. Here is some more information from the artists.
More than 1700 pieces of cardboard boxes pile up like street canyons to an 32 qm big mural.
The basic construction, 12 boards à 200 x 133 cm, fades for the eyes of the viewer under this colorful cardboard city, which is also a stage for its actors: King Kong and Godzilla. King Kong climbs up the Chocolate Banana Towers, while Godzilla is lurking in the green lowlands.
This model of an modern large city reminds us of the highly detailed city mock-ups which were made for such science fiction monster-movies, to be destroyed dramatically afterwards.
The movie »King Kong« (1933) ushered the era of special effects in Hollywood and is still regarded as a milestone in the stop-motion animation technique. Not less significant is Godzilla (1954) for the japanese film industry. In the movie »King Kong vs. Godzilla« (1962) King Kong and Godzilla compete against each other. The fight ends in a draw.
Movies and packagings have many parallels. They pack contents to discover it to the maximum effect. Both are subject to trends, but always striking new paths to set trends by themselves. Brands and their products are showcased like movies and provoke customers emotions and reactions. The packaging is actor and stage at the same time. These cardboard boxes tell stories about the packaged product, such as houses talk about their residents.
