To be a pilgrim 1977

Robert Filliou made "To be a pilgrim" from cardboard boxes, with crayon or marker drawings on each. These aren't traditional art materials, of course; they're taken from the everyday world of shipping and packaging. The texture of the cardboard gives the drawings a rough, immediate quality. You can almost see Filliou finding these boxes and deciding to use them as a support for his playful images. The drawings, which include faces, symbols, and the title phrase, add a layer of meaning to the humble material. By using cardboard, Filliou is commenting on the mass production and consumption that define modern life. The boxes, once containers for goods, become containers for ideas, and this act transforms the ordinary into something extraordinary. This piece invites us to reconsider the value we place on materials and the potential for art to be found in the most unexpected places. It's a reminder that creativity can thrive even in the most mundane circumstances, and that art doesn't always need to be precious or refined to be meaningful.