Recycled plastic and wood
2,07m x 0,15m
Madrid, 2004

L’Oiseau dans l’espace, or Not, is a replica of the original, wrapped in crocheted recycled plastic.

L’Oiseau dans l’espace, is a series of sculptures by Constantin Brancusi. In 1927 it became the centre of a heated legal debate, redefining the meaning of art. The lawyers had to decide whether it was an ‘original sculpture’ or a metal article. It was not clear whether the ‘Bird’ could be called art, because it looked like nothing anyone had ever seen before. The following is an extract from the conversation that took place in the courtroom:

lawyer: What do you call this?
photographer: I use the same term the sculptor did, oiseau, a bird.
lawyer: What makes you call it a bird, does it look like a bird to you?
photographer: It does not look like a bird but I feel that it is a bird, it is characterized by the artist as a bird.
lawyer: Simply because he called it a bird does that make it a bird to you?
photographer: Yes, your honour.
lawyer: If you would see it on the street you never would think of
calling it a bird, would you?
(photographer: Silence)
2.lawyer: If you saw it in the forest you would not take a shot at it?
photographer: No, your honour.