ÆTHER

constructions & photograms
by Arthur Bruso

June 22 - August 10, 2008

This was a solo exhibition of my work at Curious Matter.

Following is the first question of an interview that was reproduced in the printed materials for the exhibition.

In conversation with Arthur Bruso
By Raymond E. Mingst

REM: The collection of work in your new show ÆTHER is comprised of photograms as well as small box constructions with titles such as “Pulsar,” “Dark Matter” and “Wormhole.” Would you tell me about the science of the exhibit? AB: A pulsar is a star that sends out bursts of energy at regular intervals. In my box, I use white beads to show this. Dark matter is a theoretical idea used to explain missing matter in the universe that shows up in mathematical calculations, but doesn’t seem present in the universe we observe. I’ve used a tangle of wire to stand in for this missing element. Wormhole is another theoretical phenomenon used in discussions related to time in the universe. It is supposed to be a connection between one part of space and another or one universe and another. My wormhole is a tube that connects a blue universe with a black universe. The tube ends in a ball on each side to offer a visual termination. The boxes are my interpretation of phenomenons that occur in space. The workings of space and the universe have fascinated me for ages. All this stuff is going on a scale that I find almost unimaginable, on a time scale that is incomprehensible to me. In my photographic series, Into the Magic Space, I touched on many of the same ideas of space and the universe in a more conceptual way. With the boxes I am being slightly more descriptive.

Please visit Curious Matter to read the entire interview.

Black Hole

Black Hole
4" x 4" x 4.5"
cardboard, tape spool, copper wire, aluminum foil, glass beads, tissue paper, acrylic paint, steel wire, glue

As an unrepentant pack-rat, I felt justified of my habit upon finding photographs of Joseph Cornell’s studio. I had been contemplating a box idea ever since I had learned about Cornell. Years later, still not acting on my box constructions, but having moved my collection of junk three times, I saw a retrospective of Rauschenberg which included small wooden boxes he built in the 1950’s. These reinvigorated my desire to proceed with my boxes.

Black Hole is the latest in a series of assemblage boxes that I have been constructing. An object suggests to me what the idea of the box may be. With Black Hole, the object was a nearly spent roll of black cloth, electrician’s tape. It was the negative space of the roll, combined with the idle fact that the cardboard spool had begun to unravel that I focused on.

Black holes have long held a fascination for me. The idea that all matter is going to be spiraling down a massive, insatiable hole, that has the strongest gravitational pull in the universe, both frightened me and held me in awe.

In this box, I have tried to render the concept of space being bent by the enormous gravitational forces exerted by the black hole by showing the interior space narrower at the back than at the front. Matter spiraling into the hole and x-rays shooting out are depicted by the white beads and the silver foil respectively.

I get a sense of ironic humor that I have contained one of the most destructive forces in the universe in a 4-inch square box. The universe may be infinite, but that also means that it can be contained in that small space.

Black Hole was first exhibited as part of the Hocus Pocus exhibition at Curious Matter.

Hocus Pocus

I participated in the group exhibition Hocus Pocus at Curious Matter. The exhibition was held from March 30 - May 4, 2008 with the following artists:

Arthur Bruso
Aimée Burg
Vincent Como
Tara Giannini
Yuko Kobayashi
Bryan Lauch & Petra Pokos
Ross Bennett Lewis
Marianne McCarthy
Michael Nathaniel Meyer
Raymond E. Mingst
Carol Petino
Zach Rockhill
Anthony Santella
Rachael Serbinski
Laurie Sheridan
Rebecca Sittler Schrock
Brea Souders
P. Teramode
Jennie Thwing
Kelly Vetter
Alyssa Taylor Wendt
Jenn Wong
Suejin Youn
John J. Zirkelbach

The first paragraph of the catalog essay sets the theme:

Among the theories to the origin of the rhyme Hocus Pocus, it is either a true incantation in ancient ritual magic, or a pseudo-Latin phrase used by medieval sleight-of-hand performers to parody the Church and the idea of transubstantiation, while distracting the audience from the sham being perpetrated on stage.

Please go to Curious Matter the read the complete essay.
The catalog for Hocus Pocus is available at Lulu.com or from Curious Matter.