Existing comment:
Ken Friedman (b. 1949, American) and Fletcher Copp (b. 1943 American)
"The Sock of the Month" announcement and sock to Lucy Lippard, ca. 1970
Ken Friedman and Fletcher Copp were active members of the international experimental art movement Fluxus, which sought to engage its audiences in the production of art and de-instrumentalize everyday life. Through Fluxus, Friedman and Copp became part of the mail art network. As Friedman stated: "Fluxus approached mail art as an opportunity to experimentation, to communication and to interaction." With mail art projects like Sock of the Month Club, he and Copp parody product subscription clubs like "cheese of the month" clubs that capitalize on the desire to cultivate one's taste and belong to an elite group of consumers. Sending a dirty painted sock, they disrupt the prestige on which subscription clubs depend, while sensitizing the recipient to the materiality of everyday objects.
-- Mary Savig |