Art of aftermath of suicide?

June 16, 2011 4:35 PM

What is the name of the contemporary artist who made an installation during the 1990s showing the aftermath of a suicide from jumping off of a building? The art was quite gory and controversial. Any leads would be most appreciated.
posted by mortaddams to media & arts (9 answers total)

Well, I googled "suicide art installation" and combinations thereof and Tom Smith's The Most Beautiful Suicide kept coming up. I'm on the iPad, so I can't play it myself. Link to google results. Hope it's a lead.
posted by likeso at 4:47 PM on June 16, 2011

"The most beautiful suicide" by Tom Smith is what you were probably finding, likeso. And it is an installation depicting a suicide in a living space, not from jumping.
posted by idiopath at 5:13 PM on June 16, 2011

Ah. Thanks, ideopath. Figured that'd be too easy. :)

mortaddams, do know know where this installation was? Which country/city and was it an outdoor or indoor venue?
posted by likeso at 6:06 PM on June 16, 2011

I think Tom Smith, aka smitty1479, exists only on YouTube. It sure doesn't look like an installation, just a video (and in HD from the '90s? Not too likely.)
I don't think this is the work you're looking for.

Bill Thomas made a series of photos of suicides in the 90s, but not bloody aftermath.
posted by Ideefixe at 6:26 PM on June 16, 2011

I don't know where it was installed, as I have only seen it in photos. Unfortunately, I do not remember what book the photos were in. That said, it appeared to be in a gallery. It looked like a body flattened on the sidewalk, after jumping. It was bright, bloody, red.
posted by mortaddams at 6:45 PM on June 16, 2011

the closest artist i can find is stephen shanabrook, who cast the remnants of a suicide bomber in chocolate. but that medium is hard to forget. cross between that and this other sculpture he did? i was convinced he would have made the piece you're remembering, as he worked in the 90s and seems to also work with suicide/death/gory business, but i went through all of his website and couldn't find a match. good luck!
posted by ilk at 7:56 PM on June 16, 2011

also did "slapped in the face until your shit turns red" for another point of interest. maybe he did do your installation and it's just not online, documentation lost in the world pre-internet. hm.
posted by ilk at 8:00 PM on June 16, 2011

Could it have been Tom Friedman?

It definitely fits the bill for being bright, bloody and red. (And is really amazing when you find out it was made completely from construction paper.)
posted by bill the tinman at 8:13 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

That one by Tom Friedman is exactly the one that I was thinking of! Thanks for sharing it ...
posted by mortaddams at 8:35 PM on June 16, 2011