Laib combines ephemeral materials—pollen, beeswax, milk, and rice—with long-lasting materials like stone, brass, and wood to create minimalist sculptures and installations. His refined shapes, warm colors, and aromatic materials invite us to slow down and contemplate the sensory richness of the world.
Milkstones
Laib carves a slight indentation in the top of a polished white marble brick and fills that indentation with milk. The milk creates a seamless skin on the top the marble—the ephemeral and permanent perfectly joined. Laib states, “how temporary milk is and how eternal a stone is.”1
Pollen Sculptures
Laib painstakingly collects pollen from the wildflowers and trees close to his home in Germany. He then carefully sifts the pollen on to a museum or gallery floor to create simple geometric shapes. Laib states, “pollen is the potential beginning of the life of the plant. It is as simple, as beautiful, and as complex as this.”2
Superb site you have here but I was curious if you knew of any community forums that cover the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really like to be a part of online community where I can get feed-back from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Many thanks!
Take a look at the links on the right side of OpenLab’s home page–lots of resources there. Also, if you’re in the Santa Cruz area, MFA student David Harris recently started a Santa Cruz SciArt Meetup.