Beds – you’re born in them, you die in them, you make love in them and you sleep in them. From early piles of straw in 8000 BC to today’s standardised base and mattress (4ft 6in x 6ft 3in for a double size) the bed has played an integral role in
Beds – you’re born in them, you die in them, you make love in them and you sleep in them. From early piles of straw in 8000 BC to today’s standardised base and mattress (4ft 6in x 6ft 3in for a double size) the bed has played an integral role in society. Featured in fairytales such as Hans Christian Andersen’s Princess and the Pea – whose royal identity is established by a physical test of her sensitivity to a small legume placed under a stack of 20 mattresses and 20 featherbeds – and Tracey Emin’s most famous contemporary artwork My Bed, which was also shortlisted for the 1999 Turner Prize, they have long been a focal point for storytelling and creative communication. Often used in pivotal moment of films, in 1931’s Dracula the Count (Béla Lugosi) preys on Mina (Helen Chandler) as she peacefully sleeps in her bed, in 1992’s Basic Instinct after making love Catherine (Sharon Stone) stabs Nick (Michael Douglas) with an ice pick kept under the bed, and in 1999’s American Beauty Angela (Mena Suvari) is repeatedly pictured naked surrounded by a bed of roses as Lester (Kevin Spacey) fantasises about her.
This week, the Most Loved item of the week on the AnOther Loves stream is fashion designer Sophie McGinn’s Katharina Grosse painted bed installation. Known for her large scale and unconventional paintings – which have to date covered entire gallery walls, floors and building exteriors – Grosse’s work is full of exuberance, energy and vibrancy. Applied freely using bright colours, her pieces make reference to post-war abstract expressionism and cause immediate impact. Here we speak to McGinn about bedrooms, sleeping and dreaming.
Where did you find the installation and what made you LOve it?
On a tumblr called Design Cloud. It looks so spontaneous and quite violent in a very colourful way.
An unconventional contemporary artist, Grosse’s work exceeds the canvas of traditional painters – are you fond of any other contemporary artist’s work? Who, what and why?
The artist Do-Ho Suh creates sculptural pieces that have always left such an impression on me. There was one artwork in particular that I saw at the Biennale of Sydney years ago, where he had recreated the interiors of rooms out of different coloured sheer fabrics and with incredible details like tiny sewn 3D taps. You could walk through the hallways between the rooms but everything was just so light and transparent. I think that sometimes our homes have to be so practical that we like to imagine what it would be like to live somewhere purely for the experience, without having to store all our daily clutter or need practical things like running water, electricity, or a roof.
Would you ever decorate your bedroom in such an exuberant way?
I quite like the idea of having a bedroom that's very very minimal – so probably not.
Describe the interior of your bedroom?
The walls are actually painted black but because it has large windows there is a lot of light and sunshine pouring in which balances it out. The dark colour also makes it very cozy in winter.
Where’s your favourite place to sleep or ever slept?
Dozing lazily at the beach or in parks is always nice.
What was your last dream?
The last dream that I can remember just ended with me slowly opening my hand and coins dropping out into someone else’s hand. But I don't know who the other hand belonged to and what it means?
What is on your wish list at the moment?
Any books by Claire Shaeffer.
Text by Lucia Davies
