Tom Carapic (born 1939), full name Tomislav Sava Čarapić, is an artist who specialises in

found object A found object (a calque from the French ''objet trouvé''), or found art, is art created from undisguised, but often modified, items or products that are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already hav ...

artwork.

Early life and education

Carapic was born in Velisevac,

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

(then

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

). He was educated at a military school in

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...

in the 1950s, and served as a sergeant in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

. Afterwards he was denied a college education, possibly because he was not a member of the Communist Party, and illegally crossed into

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1961, and, from there, emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1965, he began attending classes at the New York Art Students League, but dropped out soon afterwards, eventually attending the Wilfred Academy of Beauty Culture. He was unable, however, to find steady

beauty parlor A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and medical spas. Beauty treatments Hair cut is generally of ...

employment, and worked in menial labor while attending classes in Spanish Education at Manhattan Community College. Due to a problem with accreditation, he was forced to switch to classes in the field of

studio art An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

. There he experienced hallucinatory visions that explained his repeated failures to obtain a degree.

Artwork

In the late 1970s, Carapic began experiencing more hallucinatory visions; claiming that his degree problems were caused when "the evil marriage bureau massed the troops" against his college and proceeded with "an

Air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

bombardment" of the school. After receiving other visitations, he began making and showing his art. Most of his art is centered on found objects, most famously

computer keyboard A computer keyboard is a built-in or peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or Push-button, keys to act as Mechanical keyboard, mechanical levers or Electronic switching system, electro ...

s, especially those by

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

. Most of his art consists of these objects, marked with black Sharpie markers, and with green thumbprints and

handprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfa ...

s along the objects. His most famous exhibit in New York City is "Big Bang Theory," a doomsday warnings painted on computer keyboards and shoes and construction debris.

External links

Dilettante Press Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carapic, Tom 1939 births Living people American people of Serbian descent Yugoslav emigrants to the United States People from Ljig