Jack Pierson is known for his photographs, collages, word sculptures, installations, drawings and artists books. While studying at the Massachusetts College of Art in the 1980s, he became part of the ”Boston School” group. Other members of the group are Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Nan Goldin and Mike and Doug Starn (Starn Twins) among others. Pierson’s work is represented in many museum collections, including LACMA and MOCA in Los Angeles, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum and Guggenheim Museum New York.
Jack Pierson first began making his ”Word Sculptures” in 1991, utilizing found objects which the artist has assembled over many years. He collects abandoned signage from closed businesses, such as cinema marquees, casinos or storefronts, as well as road signs, neons and other cultural ephemera. In these works, Pierson often plays with subconscious, collective knowledge of proverbs, fairy-tales, song texts and literary clichés.
Pierson’s European gallery Thaddaeus Ropac has exhibited his Word Sculptures several times. The press-release for the exhibition in 2014 offers a well-versed introduction to his sculptures: ”The mid-century lettering evokes a sense of nostalgia, while the phrases are sourced from the contemporary vernacular – overheard in cafés and his daily commute, or borrowed from political aphorisms and advertising slogans – in works that defamiliarise everyday language. In the 1990’s, Pierson primarily used slogans that were a melancholy reminder of the bygone Hollywood heyday, while his more recent works explore philosophical ideas. Concise and sometimes laconic, these works tap into the poetics of modern culture, using classical, literary and biblical quotations that evoke subtle associations for the viewer. They can be considered an American variant of concrete poetry, where language itself is represented through the skillful combination of word and material.”