Cavemanman, 2002

Thomas Hirschhorn displays his proficiency and ability in the production of one of his better known installation arts, “Cavemanman.” This installation display was Mr. Hirschhorn’s New York gallery debut. The display would be comprised of several chambers or caves that would be filled with hundreds of books relating to religion, politics, philosophy, feminism, theory and race. The materials used to do this would mostly be made of Hirschhorn’s favorites, duct tape, plastic, and cut-outs. Shown in many of Hirschhorns works, whether 2D or 3D, collage or installation, museum or street art, Hirschhorn maintains the consistency of displaying this installation as art of engagement. This means that you must be engaged in the installation to understand that the idea and activities created by the presence of the display are more important than the display itself. In Summary, “Cavemanman” is a piece of installation art on a large scale comprised of controversial material in the form of a 3D collage.

In this particular work of art, Mr. Hirschhorn is responding to a number of various subjections. One of the most intriguing was brought to my attention through a New York Times article written by Michael Rush. In the article he writes, “He envisions the exhibition space as a cave or tunnel into which a man has retreated from the world because of his distress over the enormous inequities he experiences in life.” A powerful meaning of the work that I think has much relevance for observers to reflect on. The caves also represent a man’s isolation. The hundreds of books display an adequate relationship between the man and his ongoing commitment to new ideas. The topics of the books consisting of religion, politics, philosophy, feminist theory, and race represent some of the most powerful and controversial content he could have displayed. Equality among human beings has been a theme that Mr. Hirschhorn has used in several of his works that once again becomes apparent to the viewer in the installation piece, “Cavemanman.”

As I have researched Thomas Hirschhorn’s work, I have been able to relate it to several other artists or styles of art. Through research I have determined that artists like Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Ben Vautier, Ed Kienholz, Allan Kaprow, and Joseph Beuys have all been influential in the development of Thomas Hirschhorn’s artwork. Mr Hirschhorn gives credit to Warhol when he says, “His honesty, and his cruelty, especially in the car and airplane crash series, made me feel that art can involve me. He understood society and criticized society; he was very clear.” In this quote, Hirschhorn displays that in his own work he makes references and insinuations to society as well. I think that through Cavemanman it can be concluded that Hirschhorn is displaying an aspect of going beyond what you are viewing, and to start embracing what you are feeling. I believe that way of thinking has its roots in surrealism.


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Rian, Jeff.. “Swiss Diss, Jeff Rian on Thomas Hirschhorn’s Swiss-Swiss Democracy” Art Forum International Magazine. 2005. .



CCA Wattis Institute Presents Thomas Hirschhorn, "Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One Dress". http://www.cca.edu/about/press/2006/hirschhornsfpr2.