Tom Friedman makes some of my favorite art. The wonder is in his obsessiveness.

Untitled
pencil shaving
20 x 1½ x 1½ in. (50.8 x 50.8 x 3.8 cm.)
1992

Untitled, 1992, garbage bags, 62 x 26 x 26 inches: About 3000 garbage bags stuffed inside each other until no more could be added.

Tom Friedman
Untitled, 1990
Bubble gum
Approximately 1,500 pieces of chewed bubble gum molded into a sphere and displayed at head height in a corner, hanging by its own stickiness

Tom Friedman
Untitled (Self-Portrait)
1994
carved aspirin
3/8 x 1/8 x 3/8 inches

Tom Friedman, Untitled, Wooden school chair, 86.4×55.9×55.9cm, Hundreds of holes drilled into a wooden school chair.

Everything, 1992-1995, pen on paper, 36 x 36 inches: All the words in the English language written on a large sheet on paper which sits on the floor.

Untitled (Dollar Bill), 2000. Thirty-six dollar bills cut into “pixel”-like segments and assembled into a single bill.

Untitled, 1990, marker on wall, diameter 42 inches: The artist's signature written on the wall in a spiral until the pen has run out of ink.

(Close Up)
Untitled, 1990, marker on wall, diameter 42 inches: The artist's signature written on the wall in a spiral until the pen has run out of ink.

Untitled, 1995, toothpicks, 26 x 30 x 23 inches: A starburst construction made with 30,000 toothpicks.

Map Of The World "Upside Down", With Labeling "Rightside Up"

Tom Friedman
Loop, 1995
Spaghetti
Diameter: 12 inches
All the strands from a one-pound box of spaghetti, cooked, dried and connected end-to-end. The first piece connects to the last to form a continuous loop

Tom Friedman
Untitled, 1999
Sugar cubes
48 x 17 x 10 inches
A self-portrait made from sugar cubes.

Tom Friedman
Secrets, 1997
Ink on paper
11 x 8 ½ inches
The artist’s secrets written so small they can’t be read

Tom Friedman
Open Black Box, 2006
Black construction paper
137 x 137 x 137 inches

Tom Friedman
Untitled, 1996
Cardboard box corners
24 x 33 x 31 inches
A construction made from the corners of cardboard boxes that contained products the artist used over the course of one year

Tom Friedman
Untitled, 2005
Paint
Each: 4 x 11 ¼ x 4 ¾ inches
A replica of the artist’s shoes made entirely out of paint

Tom Friedman
Space Station, 1997
Household objects and spray paint
32 x 32 x 17 inches
A space station made with objects found around the house, spraypainted white