TR Ericsson
Letter opener (with bullet casings), 2017
Bronze
22.9 x 4.4 cm
9 x 1 3/4 in
9 x 1 3/4 in
Edition of 3 plus 1 AP
Copyright the artist & Harlan Levey Projects
Cast from Ericsson's grandfather’s letter opener that he made during the war out of shell casings, the blade is imprinted with a typed fragment from a letter written to the...
Cast from Ericsson's grandfather’s letter opener that he made during the war out of shell casings, the blade is imprinted with a typed fragment from a letter written to the artist by his mother. This same letter later led to Ericsson's three-panel ash work "Letter (March 3, 1994)", 2019.
You may not think of a letter opener when you see it. You might think of a knife. And then why is the typewriter text in relief on the blade? The obvious conclusion is that whatever is written there, is there to wound. It’s illegibility only heightens the obscure and troubling personal-ness of the work.
You may not think of a letter opener when you see it. You might think of a knife. And then why is the typewriter text in relief on the blade? The obvious conclusion is that whatever is written there, is there to wound. It’s illegibility only heightens the obscure and troubling personal-ness of the work.