--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The debut show, “Second Lives: Remixing…" description: "\"The debut show, “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary,” is supposed to be about how artists reuse humble or unusual materials. There’s good work here, b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/491/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-debut-show-second-lives-remixing-the_35049.png" --- # The debut show, “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary,” is… ![“The debut show, “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary,” is supposed to be about how artists reuse humble or unusual materials. There’s good work here, but much of what’s on view is actually more about obsession and repetition: a couch made out of 3,500 quarters, a necklace composed of 100 handgun…” quote by Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/491/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-debut-show-second-lives-remixing-the_35049.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/491/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-debut-show-second-lives-remixing-the_35049.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/491/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-debut-show-second-lives-remixing-the_35049.png) > “The debut show, “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary,” is supposed to be about how artists reuse humble or unusual materials. There’s good work here, but much of what’s on view is actually more about obsession and repetition: a couch made out of 3,500 quarters, a necklace composed of 100 handgun triggers. The building, too, seems caught between wanting to be an object of decorative delectation and making an architectural statement.” [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The exhibition claims to explore artistic reuse of everyday objects, yet many works prioritize shock and repetitive excess over thoughtful transformation. **In simple terms:** Surface vs. depth in material reuse Key Takeaway Excess can eclipse concept Themes material culture art criticism consumerism repetition aesthetic excess Mood critical skeptical analytical Type critical review exhibition commentary When to use this quote - gallery curators - contemporary artists - art critics - museum visitors Key Concepts reuse obsession craft statement Practical Applications - curatorial framing - critical essays Questions to Reflect On - Does repetition enhance or dilute artistic intent? - How should curators balance spectacle with conceptual depth? A Different Perspective Some viewers may find value in the visceral impact of mass‑produced objects, seeing it as a commentary on consumer waste. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Couches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couches/) [Debut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debut/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Handguns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handguns/) [Humble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humble/) [Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museums/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Triggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triggers/) ## Related quotes > [Obsession and repetition in the process of making things is one constant element in my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-skoglund/obsession-and-repetition-in-the-process-of-making-things-is-one/) [Sandy Skoglund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-skoglund/) > [“Here to second lives. May we all be forgiven for the inapt missteps of our past, and presented with new opportunities to accomplish the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-to-second-lives-may-we-all-be-forgiven-for-the-inapt-missteps-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The shared secret of our second lives hangs between us, not like a weight, but like a lifeline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-shared-secret-of-our-second-lives-hangs-between-us-not-like-a/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Recycling is a good thing to do. It makes people feel good to do it. The thing I want to emphasize is the vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/recycling-is-a-good-thing-to-do-it-makes-people-feel-good-to-do-it/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [“A photograph of a disposable diaper floating in the arctic miles away from human habitat fueled my daily determination to save at least one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-ng/a-photograph-of-a-disposable-diaper-floating-in-the-arctic-miles-away/) Gloria Ng > [It makes a big difference to recycle. It makes a big difference to use recycled products. It makes a big difference to reuse things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-makes-a-big-difference-to-recycle-it-makes-a-big-difference-to-use-2/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [I've never been able to reuse characters, I've often wanted to. I've never been able to get people to cooperate. I can't get anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-romero/i-ve-never-been-able-to-reuse-characters-i-ve-often-wanted-to-i-ve/) [George A. Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-romero/) > [“A maid’s yard, house, wardrobe, fridge, etc. sometimes also serve as her master’s dustbin or dumpsite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-maid-s-yard-house-wardrobe-fridge-etc-sometimes-also-serve-as-her/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [We need to send hundreds of millions of dollars down to our public high schools, vocational colleges, and community colleges to begin training people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/we-need-to-send-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-down-to-our-public/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Hunts Point Revival's reuse of the existing structure as part of the new development was conceptually bold and challenging. Overall, the project contained a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mazria/hunts-point-revival-s-reuse-of-the-existing-structure-as-part-of-the/) Edward Mazria > [Support renewable energy. Recycle. Reuse. Restore. Replenish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-black/support-renewable-energy-recycle-reuse-restore-replenish/) [Claudia Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-black/) > [I guess this is how love is when it comes undone. No matter how tight you knit the stitches, a sharp tug on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayari-jones/i-guess-this-is-how-love-is-when-it-comes-undone-no-matter-how-tight/) [Tayari Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayari-jones/) > [That's something I've always been down with: creative commons and people being able to license their music and allow other people to reuse it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girl-talk/that-s-something-i-ve-always-been-down-with-creative-commons-and/) [Girl Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girl-talk/) > [“I’ll eventually replace my charity clothes with things I’ll buy for myself, but not until I’ve worn them through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-cody/i-ll-eventually-replace-my-charity-clothes-with-things-i-ll-buy-for/) Jennifer Cody > [The purpose - where I start - is the idea of use. It is not recycling, it's reuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/the-purpose-where-i-start-is-the-idea-of-use-it-is-not-recycling-it-s/) [Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/) ## More by Jerry Saltz > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Kinkade estimated that one of his paintings hung in every twenty homes in America. Yet the art world unanimously ignores or reviles him. Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/kinkade-estimated-that-one-of-his-paintings-hung-in-every-twenty/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The German ueber-photographer Andreas Gursky was the perfect pre-9/11 artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-german-ueber-photographer-andreas-gursky-was-the-perfect-pre-9-11/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [While the space for artists and curators has increased enormously, maybe, just maybe, that's left room for too many people calling themselves artists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/while-the-space-for-artists-and-curators-has-increased-enormously/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Those who love him love that he sells the most art; they take it as a point of faith that this proves Kinkade is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/those-who-love-him-love-that-he-sells-the-most-art-they-take-it-as-a/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > ['Untitled' is a time machine that can transport you to 1992, an edgy moment when the art world was crumbling, money was scarce, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/untitled-is-a-time-machine-that-can-transport-you-to-1992-an-edgy/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I love art dealers. In some ways, they're my favorite people in the art world. Really. I love that they put their money where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-love-art-dealers-in-some-ways-they-re-my-favorite-people-in-the-art/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [My nominee for Best Picture of the year - maybe the best picture ever, because it's essentially made up of and is an ecstatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/my-nominee-for-best-picture-of-the-year-maybe-the-best-picture-ever/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Many things happened in the sixties, but the period is no more significant, better, or more 'political' than today. It's time to turn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/many-things-happened-in-the-sixties-but-the-period-is-no-more/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [When people in stadiums do the Wave, it's the group-mind collective organism spontaneously organizing itself to express an emotion, pass time, and reflect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/when-people-in-stadiums-do-the-wave-it-s-the-group-mind-collective/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Few contemporary artists mined the space between the ordinary and the strange better than Orozco did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/few-contemporary-artists-mined-the-space-between-the-ordinary-and-the/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The giant white cube is now impeding rather than enhancing the rhythms of art. It preprograms a viewer's journey, shifts the emphasis from process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-giant-white-cube-is-now-impeding-rather-than-enhancing-the/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Art schools are partly the villain here. (Never mind that I teach in them.) This generation of artists is the first to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/art-schools-are-partly-the-villain-here-never-mind-that-i-teach-in/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [There's one Baldessari work I genuinely love and would like to own, maybe because of my Midwestern roots and love of driving alone. 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/there-s-one-baldessari-work-i-genuinely-love-and-would-like-to-own/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I like that the art world isn't regulated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-like-that-the-art-world-isn-t-regulated/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) [Explore all 213 Jerry Saltz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The debut show, “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary,” is supposed to be about how artists reuse humble or unusual materials. 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