Reno Family Fabricators, 2008-2010, hand-made shovels, signs, and carts, dimensions variable.
Reno Family Fabricators, 2017, full-scale wooden replica of Incident Report Viewing Station (348 Warren Street, Hudson, NY) storefront with hand-made shovels, signs, and carts, dimensions variable.
Part 3/6 of The Realist Manifesto series.
Reno Family Fabricators was presented at The Incident Report Viewing Station in Hudson, NY during the early winter months of 2010.
For this occasion, the artist leased the viewing station to a New York City snow shovel company -- Reno Family Fabricators -- who proudly presented their new hand-made shovels and historic carts and signs to the residents of the Hudson River Valley.
Reno Family Fabricators: Where Shovelers Shop!
Exhibited at:
“Reno Family Fabricators,” Incident Report Viewing Station, 348 Warren Street, Hudson, NY (February 10 – March 14, 2010)
“Incident Report: Reports,” SEPTEMBER, 449 Warren Street #3, Hudson, NY (September 2 – October 15, 2017)
“rivers, threads, folds,” organized by Wolf Tones, Art Cake, 214 40th Street, Brooklyn, NY (May 26 – June 26, 2022)
Constituent parts:
Renol Snow Shovels Original 1915 Sign, 2009-2010, Steel, found chain, paint (23 x 16 x 3 inches). Unique.
Work includes card with text: ORIGINAL 1915 SIGN “RENOL SNOW SHOVELS” -- NOTICING THAT CUSTOMERS USED “RENO” RATHER THAN “RENOL”, THE FOUNDER PAINTED OVER THE “L” ON THE SIGN. FROM THAT MOMENT ON THE FAMILY WAS KNOWN AS RENO. *NOT FOR SALE* RENO FAMILY COLLECTION
Vintage 1978 Blizzard Special Cart (a. k. a. “Black Ice”) with two shovels (the “Swede” and the “Forty-Five”), 2008-2010. Unique.
Cart: Wood, found rope, found sled, found trash can, found scoop, found coat hooks, found screws, found brackets, paint, salt (56 x 38 x 22 ½ inches).
Work includes card with text:VINTAGE 1978 BLIZZARD SPECIAL A.K.A. “BLACK ICE” -- FEATURING DOUBLE SHOVEL RACK, SLED BASE FOR SLIPPERY CONDITIONS, AND SALT BUCKET *NOT FOR SALE* RENO FAMILY COLLECTION
Shovels: Steel, wood, found screws, paint (Swede: 45 ¼ x 16 ½ x 7 ¼ inches ~ Forty-Five: 48 x 18 x 4 inches).
Work includes tag with text: * ORDER IN ADVANCE * THE “SWEDE” IS BACK AND STRONGER THAN EVER! ~ RESTORED “FORTY – FIVE”™ *FOR DISPLAY ONLY*
“We sell salt.” Sandwich Board, 2009-2010 Wood, found chain, found hinges, paint (32 x 22 x 18 ½ inches). Unique.
Work includes card with text: “WE SELL SALT.” SANDWICH BOARD *FOR DISPLAY ONLY* RENO FAMILY COLLECTION
“Silver Surfer” Day-in, Day-out Snow Dolly with one shovel (“The Classic”), 2008-2010. Unique.
Cart: Wood, metal tube, found hand truck, found scoop, found coat hooks, found screws, paint, salt (64 x 17 x 23 inches).
Work includes card with text: DAY-IN, DAY-OUT SNOW DOLLY “SILVER SURFER” -- SUFFERED BROKEN POLE IN 1998 ICE STORM LAST USED IN 2006 NYC BLIZZARD (RESTORED) *RETIRED 2006* RENO FAMILY COLLECTION
Shovel: Steel, wood, found nuts and bolts, paint (The Classic: 52 x 13 ¾ x 4 ½ inches).
Work includes tag with text: “THE CLASSIC” SHOVEL -- SCOOP CAST FROM MOLD OF 1964 ORIGINAL *LIMITED EDITION* WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
Reno Family Fabricators’ Store Ephemera, 2009-2010. Edition of 10 with 3 APs. Flyer: cotton rag paper, ink (7 ¼ x 10 ½ inches) Business card (text only): paper, ink (2 x 3 ½ inches) Business card (logo only): paper, ink (2 x 3 ½ inches) Photograph: cotton rag paper, ink (10 ½ x 7 ¼ inches)
With these objects and this site, I wanted to create the store where Marcel Duchamp might have bought his snow shovel (In Advance of a Broken Arm, 1915). But while Duchamp bought his shovels, changing the course of art history, I “went backwards” and made mine by hand. Each is a precise copy of one of three existing versions of In Advance… but with hand-bent and welded steel shovel blades, and handles hand-carved from wood.
Installation views at SEPTEMBER gallery in Hudson, NY in 2017:
