{"id":163712,"date":"2023-03-23T12:23:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T16:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=163712"},"modified":"2023-03-27T12:08:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T16:08:48","slug":"on-paper-an-interview-with-thomas-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2023\/03\/23\/on-paper-an-interview-with-thomas-demand\/","title":{"rendered":"On Paper: An Interview with Thomas Demand"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_163753\" style=\"width: 2075px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/daily-no-07-300dpi-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-163753\" class=\"wp-image-163753 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/daily-no-07-300dpi-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2065\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/daily-no-07-300dpi-scaled.jpg 2065w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/daily-no-07-300dpi-242x300.jpg 242w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/daily-no-07-300dpi-826x1024.jpg 826w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/daily-no-07-300dpi-768x952.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/daily-no-07-300dpi-1239x1536.jpg 1239w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/daily-no-07-300dpi-1652x2048.jpg 1652w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-163753\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtesy of Thomas Demand and MACK.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>The <\/em>Review <em>has long been a fan of Thomas Demand\u2019s work; our Spring 2015 issue featured a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/art-photography\/6364\/sample-trees-ben-lerner-thomas-demand\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">portfolio<\/a> of his paper sculptures of cherry blossoms. His series <\/em>The Dailies <em>recreates quotidian objects and images: a coffee cup, a tray of cigarette butts. Only tiny flaws (pencil markings, tape) reveal them as constructions; otherwise his compositions are stripped of everything but their form. But paper isn\u2019t just a blank canvas; it also carries meaning, even if these associations are subtle: it\u2019s the medium of office workers, receipts, menus, greeting cards, origami, newspapers\u2014and, of course, of <\/em>The Paris Review<em>. To accompany a selection of images from <\/em>The Dailies<em>,<\/em> <em>we talked to Demand about paper, literature, and the home. <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">INTERVIEWER<\/p>\n<p>What does paper mean in your work?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">THOMAS DEMAND<\/p>\n<p>Paper is a formidable, malleable material that everyone touches on a daily basis. We all share this experience\u2014we know its haptic and aesthetic possibilities more than perhaps anything else. We mostly use paper for temporary purposes\u2014napkins, newspaper, coffee cups, the Amazon box, and so on. We make notes on it and throw it away, wrap our gifts in it and rip it to receive them. I find that important to consider, if I look at the more commonplace iconography in my work, like in <em>The Dailies. <\/em>I\u2019m also interested in paper\u2019s relations to information, model-making, and geometry. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">INTERVIEWER<\/p>\n<p>Paper has been disappearing from the real spaces you photograph for quite some time, being replaced by screens, stickers of QR codes, audio recordings. Do you have a sentimental attachment to paper?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">DEMAND<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think it has disappeared, actually\u2014think of any sustainable recycled packaging effort, like Amazon\u2019s. The production of paper has increased monumentally. But it might become a more valued material, which is good. People used to drink the worst piss called \u201ccoffee\u201d\u2014now it\u2019s a drink prepared by baristas with butterflies in the milk topping. Am I sentimental about the old bitter filter coffee? No. Note, however, that that coffee was made through a paper filter, to be consumed in paper cups. As far as we know, the paper cup was first made by Chinese craftsmen around two thousand years ago. In all its forms, paper has accompanied our civilizations, enabling us not only to drink but to write, to remember. I don&#8217;t see this as a metaphorical value but as one which enables the production of other values.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">INTERVIEWER<\/p>\n<p>If <em>The Dailies <\/em>were the work of a particular writer, who would it be?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">DEMAND<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to <em>The Dailies<\/em>, I think of writers who don&#8217;t use an overarching narrative\u2014Walter Benjamin, Alexander Kluge, Hans Blumenberg, Botho Strauss.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">INTERVIEWER<\/p>\n<p>What do your home and your workspace look like? Do you make frequent \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/home-improvements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Home Improvements<\/a>\u201d?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">DEMAND<\/p>\n<p>I need to wake up in an environment that is as empty as possible, and I like to live in a sparsely furnished place. I am not afraid of an empty room. I also try to part from things I haven&#8217;t needed nor missed for two or three years (apart from art, which mostly is from friends). However, I enjoy when the work spills over the tables I work from and the leftovers of my makings are scattered around the actual piece. But I need to return to a clean space to approach my next work. I hardly ever work on more than one project at once.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_163749\" style=\"width: 1585px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-163749\" class=\"size-full wp-image-163749\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-1-the-dailies.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1575\" height=\"2021\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-1-the-dailies.jpg 1575w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-1-the-dailies-234x300.jpg 234w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-1-the-dailies-798x1024.jpg 798w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-1-the-dailies-768x985.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-1-the-dailies-1197x1536.jpg 1197w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-163749\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtesy of Thomas Demand and MACK.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_163750\" style=\"width: 1585px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-163750\" class=\"size-full wp-image-163750\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-2-the-dailies.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1575\" height=\"2162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-2-the-dailies.jpg 1575w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-2-the-dailies-219x300.jpg 219w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-2-the-dailies-746x1024.jpg 746w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-2-the-dailies-768x1054.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-2-the-dailies-1119x1536.jpg 1119w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-2-the-dailies-1492x2048.jpg 1492w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-163750\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtesy of Thomas Demand and MACK.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_163751\" style=\"width: 1585px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-163751\" class=\"size-full wp-image-163751\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-3-the-dailies.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1575\" height=\"1903\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-3-the-dailies.jpg 1575w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-3-the-dailies-248x300.jpg 248w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-3-the-dailies-848x1024.jpg 848w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-3-the-dailies-768x928.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-3-the-dailies-1271x1536.jpg 1271w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-163751\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtesy of Thomas Demand and MACK.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_163752\" style=\"width: 1585px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-163752\" class=\"size-full wp-image-163752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-4-the-dailies.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1575\" height=\"1969\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-4-the-dailies.jpg 1575w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-4-the-dailies-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-4-the-dailies-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-4-the-dailies-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-4-the-dailies-1229x1536.jpg 1229w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-163752\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtesy of Thomas Demand and MACK.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Thomas Demand is a German photographer and sculptor who lives in Los Angeles. His <\/em><em>new, expanded edition of<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mackbooks.us\/collections\/frontpage\/products\/the-dailies-expanded-edition-br-thomas-demand\">The Dailies<\/a> <em>is out now from\u00a0MACK.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cIn all its diverse forms, paper has accompanied our civilizations, enabling us not only to drink but to write, to remember.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[907],"tags":[67827,13196,100,964,17218],"class_list":["post-163712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-at-work","tag-featured","tag-paper","tag-photography","tag-sculpture","tag-thomas-demand"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.4 (Yoast SEO v25.4) - 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