Tag Archive for "wunderkammer" | Northern Lights.mn

I’ll be writing a full preview of the upcoming 01SJ Biennial this week, but this “urban nest” (via Alias Arts) reminds me of the central role that Madrid-based architect Angel Borrego Cubero’s scaffolding design for Out of the Garage, Into the World sets the stage for a different way of thinking about the “exhibition.”

Luzinterruptus - "little birds inhabiting scaffolding'

Some images of Angel’s design from the 01SJ publication (designed by Matthew Rezac).

He writes in the catalog.

Some Principles

Working Space

The architectural concept for Out of the Garage, Into the World should be as close as possible to that of the exhibition itself, to what the curators are trying to achieve, and to what the artists themselves are doing. We should achieve the transformation of the exhibition into a working space, in which the processes are transparent to the public. Its architecture should not rely on dividing and blocking parts of the space, but rather should help bring work and public together.

Public Space

The public should experience an atmosphere that involves them, that places them in the space of work and empowerment. This atmosphere should produce the fascination and anticipation of entering a good restaurant through the kitchen.

Exhibition Space

Agglomeration, juxtaposition, sharing, decking, groupings, and, in general, the renegotiation of the limits of the artwork should give way to a rethinking of what it is to organize an exhibition and offer a new paradigm of how these elements and actions can be understood. From schemes that suggest the master plans of suburbia, we would like to propose exhibitions that evaluate more dense, collaborative, and diverse urban and architectural strategies.

Of course, the urban nests are also reminiscent of Misako Inaoka’s Red Bird, which is included in the Small Wonders wundkerkammer curated by ZER01 for the amazing public art program at the San Jose airport. You gotta fly into there sometime.

Small Wonders installation view, San Jose airport. Photo Jaime Austin

Small Wonders flickr set by Jaime Austin.

Stephanie Syjuco, Future Shock Nesting Boxes, 2005

Jim Campbell, Ambiguous Icon #1 (running falling), 2000

Peter Chilvers and Sandra O’Neill, Air, 2009

Beatriz da Costa, Pigeonblogger, 2006/2010

Daina Taimina, 13-Symmetry, 2005, and Gail Wight, Ghost, 2004

Christopher Locke, Egosiliqua malusymphonicus, 2010, and Hilarofustis atarium, 2010

Erik Klein, Altair Musical Interference, 1975/2009

Natalie Jeremijenko, Feral Robotic Dog, 2006

Ken Goldberg and Karl F. Böhringer, flw, 1996, and Frank Oppenheimer, bamboo cane

I just returned from San Jose working on the 2010 01SJ Biennial where, among other projects, I worked with Jaime Austin and Shona Kitchen to install “Small Wonders,” a cabinet exhibition based on the idea of the wunderkammer at the new expansion of the San Jose International Airport – which has some amazing public art, and you should definitely fly through there next time you come to the Bay Area.

“Small Wonders” includes work by Saul Becker, Jim Campbell, Center for PostNatural History, Peter Chilvers and Sandra O’Neill, Beatriz da Costa, Amy Franceschini, Ken Goldberg and Karl F. Böhringer, Tad Hirsch, Misako Inaoka, Natalie Jeremijenko, Eduardo Kac, Erik Klein, Robert J. Lang, Christopher Locke, Frank Oppenheimer, John F. Simon, Jr., SuttonBeresCuller, Stephanie Syjuco, Daina Taimina, and Gail Wight.

“Wunderkammer, also known as cabinets of curiosities, were diverse collections of objects popular during the Renaissance and considered an early form of the museum. Literally meaning “wonder room,” a wunderkammer was meant to invoke a sense of wonder and often included a wide range of objects from natural history specimens (such as taxidermy) to geological artifacts (such as precious stones) to cultural objects (such as handicrafts). Small Wonders presents a range of objects by mostly local artists. The displays are meant to evoke the wonder of the early history of Silicon Valley, and computing in general, with projects making use of the early Minitel for animations or a hack of an Altair computer. Other wonderful ‘curiosities’ that artists create employ various forms of technology from blogging pigeons, to spying coconuts, to a lifelike origami peregrine falcon.”

ZER01 also commissioned a project by SuttonBeresCullter, The Wunderkammer, which they are almost finished installing. Here is a video stream of a talk they gave about the project tonight.