The Future Was Then
“I just want to exist in a world that is easy. And, when I say easy I mean that there aren’t people yelling and there’s no stress. There’s issues and things that happen but you just deal with them as they come.”
– Daniel Arsham
Our past is what links us to our present and to the future. In a studio behind an usual door a mind explored architecture linked to mankind’s place in history, leading to the creation of “The Future Was Then”.
From 2001 to present, the New York based designer Daniel Arsham exhibits an unique perception of art through paintings, sculpture, architecture, film and performance. He is well known for his work in architecture or architecture inspired art, such as his fabric installations or alteration of space.
This installation by Daniel in the SCAD Museum of Art for the Pamela Elaine Poetter Gallery is a large wall excavation. Daniel carved into repeated series of faux-concrete wall which in the end morph from abstract forms into a silhouette of a human figure. The visitors walk around its immediate surrounding with other selected sculptural works.
“There’s a lot of failure in what I do. I try stuff. It doesn’t work. I just keep going. I’m very adept at moving past things.”
– Daniel Arsham
Arsham’s imagination has always presented a sense of playfulness, but at the same time invoked a deep thought. The perspective formed due to the gradation of carved walls indulges the visitor into the concept of evolution at an individual level.
The faux walls displays the carved out past leading to the very beginning and connecting the timeline of various civilizations, also portraying man’s capacity to create and destroy natural materials. The repetitive perforation generates a feeling similar to the one of looking into a repetitive reflection in a mirror.
by : Sanjana Malhotra