Mark Moskovitz began his academic career as a student at the University of New Hampshire. There, he earned a dual BS in English and Environmental Science. Before earning his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2005, Moskovitz did stints in television as a writer and producer and later as a carpenter and cabinet maker. The objects Moskovitz constructs hover between art piece and design. By creating work that cannot easily be categorized, Moskovitz allows the viewer “to process what he/she thinks through ’home-made filters.’”

In his Repair Shop, Moskovitz addresses outsourcing and regionalism, trade skills versus information based work, planned obsolescence and disposal, transparency, authorship, and micro-economies. Building on his previous work addressing "blue-collar envy", and "honest labor lost," Repair Shop enters the realm of semi-performance, where the labor is mediated as a criticism of our disconnection to the makers of the objects we live with and the lack of user-friendliness in our encapsulated products. The upside of the technology revolution, however, as another tool for repair, is apparent in Moskovitz's approach for finding a solution to each object.

The artist asks that gallery-goers bring in items in disrepair or unfinished projects and relinquish control of their possessions, leaving the repairs, modifications, and transformations to him; restoring faith in and elevating the trade. Because repair services continue to become more difficult to locate and are vital in recession economics, Moskovitz provides a significant service and will charge standard labor rates (+ parts) for straight repairs, emphasizing the need to support local economies and services. For work involving autonomous artistic license, a fair value will be applied. Patrons must be willing to accept either service. They can refuse to "buy back" their items on any grounds, but the object remains the artist's property and may be placed in a silent auction at the show's closing. Proceeds will be split between SPACES, the artist, and Cleveland's Success Tech Academy.

For more of Moskovitz's work, visit fiftytwothousand.com.

Related Events

Ongoing:

The artist will be in the gallery at the opening, closing, on Saturdays, and by appointment (with off-site visits possible too).

Repair Shop Auction

Friday, October 23, 6:00–8:00 p.m. (Running concurrent with The Plum Academy Commencement)
Cost: FREE, no pre-registration required

SPACELab is sponsored by Process Creative Studios in honor of Morton and Rosalie Cohen.