'The Reducto Absurdum Of All Human Experience', 2012
I started this project with vast research into philosophy and quotes of great wisdom on life. Artists like James Turrell, Walter DeMaria, Dan Flavin and Mark Tichner were One quote I discovered was of great significance and took the main stage in my mind;
"When the shadow of the sash appeared on the curtains it was between seven and eight o'clock and then I was in time again, hearing the watch. It was Grandfather's and when Father gave it to me he said, Quentin, I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; its rather excruciatingly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's. I give it to you not that may remember time, but that you may forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breathe trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is only an illusion of philosophers and fools."
This quote is from William Faulkner's book, 'The Sound and The Fury', and will stick with me for life. The reducto absurdum is a theory that always results in absurdness because of an absurd starting point. In this case it is the battle against time that we humans seem to be so obsessed with even though we are at it's mercy; time is the ever flowing continuum that we have no control over, we can only control what we do with it.
I wanted to present this meaningless battle in a physical manner and decided that an arch structure that was in correspondence with the East to West course of the Sun, would best portray the continuum of time. I incorporated solar powered lights into the structure to have the emphases on human's struggle and positioned it on the boundaries of a forest, on a hill looking over a town (Cheltenham), to make this attribute unavoidable, as well as adding aesthetic beauty. I then planted Honeysuckle (a running theme in 'The Sound and The Fury') at the bases of the arch, which will then grow up and over it, and with the help of the forest, slowly destroy the whole structure, like time will the human race. We are but a blip on the Earth's existence so we should just accept and enjoy the simple beauty that is life.
Unfortunately only a prototype has been made for this concept and was only set-up on the hill temporarily, mainly because of funds, but it has become a permanent prototype in my back garden. I will return to this project in the future and may create a series of these arches in various specific locations. It was this project that spurred me on to develop into the Samana project.
"When the shadow of the sash appeared on the curtains it was between seven and eight o'clock and then I was in time again, hearing the watch. It was Grandfather's and when Father gave it to me he said, Quentin, I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; its rather excruciatingly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's. I give it to you not that may remember time, but that you may forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breathe trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is only an illusion of philosophers and fools."
This quote is from William Faulkner's book, 'The Sound and The Fury', and will stick with me for life. The reducto absurdum is a theory that always results in absurdness because of an absurd starting point. In this case it is the battle against time that we humans seem to be so obsessed with even though we are at it's mercy; time is the ever flowing continuum that we have no control over, we can only control what we do with it.
I wanted to present this meaningless battle in a physical manner and decided that an arch structure that was in correspondence with the East to West course of the Sun, would best portray the continuum of time. I incorporated solar powered lights into the structure to have the emphases on human's struggle and positioned it on the boundaries of a forest, on a hill looking over a town (Cheltenham), to make this attribute unavoidable, as well as adding aesthetic beauty. I then planted Honeysuckle (a running theme in 'The Sound and The Fury') at the bases of the arch, which will then grow up and over it, and with the help of the forest, slowly destroy the whole structure, like time will the human race. We are but a blip on the Earth's existence so we should just accept and enjoy the simple beauty that is life.
Unfortunately only a prototype has been made for this concept and was only set-up on the hill temporarily, mainly because of funds, but it has become a permanent prototype in my back garden. I will return to this project in the future and may create a series of these arches in various specific locations. It was this project that spurred me on to develop into the Samana project.