Artist:
Jorge Pardo (born 1963 Havana, Cuba; lives and works in Mérida, Mexico and New York, USA).

Description:
A refabrication of Le Corbusier’s classic chair and sofa using industrial copper tubing rather than the polished steel tubes that form the core of the original. The title alludes to the fact that although such chairs have a great cachet amongst the upwardly mobile, they hold no such appeal to the artist’s immigrant mother. Cultural contexts and conventions affect meaning value and judgment.

“I know very little about Le Corbusier, but what I do know comes primarily from the work of contemporary artists and lifestyle magazines, both of which speak in reverent tones about his buildings and chairs (especially his chairs!). But when I finally saw the Petit Modele armchair, I could only see it through Jorge Pardo (Me and My Mum, 1990).”
—Claire Bishop, “1. How Did We Get So Nostalgic for Modernism?,” Fotomuseum Winterthur, last modified September 14, 2013.