DELIVERIES IN THE REAR
1999-2001
Richard Hoeck / John Miller
Installation
Mannequin – height: 180 cm, UPS Uniform – brown, handtruck, scattered boxes, surveillance camera
dimension variable
The idea of the Installation began as a tableau proposed for a window in the New Museum, New York. It was John Miller and Richard Hoeck’s first collaboration centered on the figure of a UPS delivery man. They imagined him as a comic figure, defined by his uniform. While a uniform is ostensibly an emblem of pride, it also signifies subservience. Moreover, UPS brown resonates uncomfortably with memories of Hitler’s Brown Shirts — and anality.
In terms of labor, the package is the enemy of the UPS man, but it is also the basis of his sustenance. Thus, the artists constructed a monumental tower of boxes that would dwarf not only the UPS man but also the viewers.
The array of extra boxes strewn around the stack suggests that this „Babel-like“ structure has already begun to topple.
