Saturday, August 20, 2011

Antony Gormley, "Capacitor II", 2005

Antony Gormley, Capacitor II
at Sean Kelly Gallery's booth at
Art Basel Miami Beach, 2005
photo by Rusty Scruby

I think of this sculpture and this photo often.  The relationship between the young man viewing and Gormley's sculpture, Capacitor II.  Both have feet spread, knees slightly bent, hands down their sides, relaxing into their respective contemplation of each other.  Gormley examines our place within the space we inhabit.  Inspired by chaos theory and quantum mechanics, Gormley welded these 6000 metal rods together to form the framework of a body.  The extension of the rods speaks to the extension of the body and the 'self' into the surrounding environs.  It can be easy for me to get lost inside of myself, to feel as if myself, my 'id', extends only to the outer layer of my skin or the end of each hair.  Capacitor II reminds me that 'myself' extends into the physical space all around me, including cyber-space, and that I do always have an impact and relationship with every object and every person that I encounter every moment of every day.

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