Hanging overhead, "El
Chandelier" is a wonder to behold. A six-foot tall chandelier crawling
with thousands of tiny knickknacks, the work glitters against the
ceiling and is breathtaking in its degree of detail. A source of
light and humor, the bulbs of "El Chandelier"are surrounded by little
plastic palm trees, tassels, kewpie dolls, and golden cups.
Squirt guns, fake pearls, dominoes, toy cars, miniature bowling pins,
and an assortment of plastic animals - swans, giraffes, monkeys,
rhinos - drip from every available surface. Dangling from golden
perches are
plastic babies. Above them, small
girl dolls mingle with plastic white
doves. In Osorio's quirky hands, scarlet fingernail extensions become
bright spots of color in a dazzling, suspended gem. While lush with
items from popular culture, the work's exuberance veils a deeper
seriousness. Dizzy in its abundance, the sadness of "El Chandelier"
is the sadness of a people who often lack the most basic of modern
necessities such as money, health care, and access to education.
An assault of cuteness, the work celebrates the beauty of kitsch
and carnival while underlining the way in which an overblown or
"tacky" aesthetic can be a critique of the prevailing and often
puritan tastes of a dominant culture. In sharp contrast to the crisp
corners and stark white walls of the wealthy galleries in which
it is often shown, the accumulation of hand-glued objects in "El
Chandelier" seems purposefully out of place.
Osorio made "El Chandelier" in response to something he saw while walking along a street of housing projects in New York's Lower East Side. Noticing several large chandeliers hanging in the lobby of a poverty-ridden building, Osorio perceived a certain irony in finding such a powerful symbol of wealth in such a poor neighborhood. Looming overhead and out of reach, these chandeliers are a vision of success that is a distant possibility for the tenants who walk beneath them every day. Osorio's work turns this situation on its head - while the artist's chandelier hangs above, every available surface has been touched and covered with objects that are personally meaningful and attractive. In a statement written by the artist, Osorio relates that "in Latino households, the over-accumulation and transformation of mass-produced objects and family memorabilia characteristic of contemporary urban practice, exists to establish profound historical and sentimental connections [...] Thus I use kitsch and humor as a way to negotiate with an imposed culture. Humor in the work also becomes the mediator of conflict and denial."
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