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Less Than Day, Or Night, my recent sculptural installation at PS1 Contemporary Art Center, continues to explore what I call “homemade futurism.” |
Less Than Day, Or Night, my recent sculptural installation at PS1 Contemporary Art Center, continues to explore what I call “homemade futurism.” The piece is inspired by the final Cantos of Dante’s Inferno in which Dante, led by Virgil, enters the freezing central pit of hell. At the end, as the pair climb their way out, Dante believes he is descending and becomes disoriented as they reach the top. Like many of us, he is fundamentally confused about the orientation of the world. I find it comforting to know that this kind of basic uncertainty has been with us for centuries.The installation is comprised of several discrete objects, each a stylized version of a naturally occurring cave formation. I started thinking about caves when the media began to report on Osama Bin Laden’s network of cavernous mountain hideouts in Pakistan, and Saddam Hussein’s “spider hole.” Between the religious conflicts, wars, and recent natural disasters occurring around the world, I’ve been considering my own eventual cave relocation. My new fascination culminated when I learned that several “giant crystal caves” had recently been discovered that resembled Superman’s secret underground home.
