Neon microcosm6/18/2023 And so, it’s one way of making an artwork that ends up belonging to the people. It takes on the ethos of the people viewing it, and they take ownership of it. For Strachan, who had once lit up a stretch of Mississippi River, in New Orleans, with a floating neon piece that read ‘You belong here’, there is power in putting declarative statements in the public realm: ‘It occupies a similar vernacular to advertising. The positioning of the artwork – under a free gondola system that is used by both tourists and locals – is very much in line with its message, as is its warm pink glow, which envelopes the rider and contrasts with the tree-lined route in all seasons. ‘The artwork is to get us to think about the meaning of it, which might be separate from the rhetoric.’ ‘If we are truly in this together, my question is, why is the phrase necessary?’ he asks. He’s well aware that the phrase is often steeped in hypocrisy. Of the phrase’s contemporary relevance, Strachan points out that it is not so much a description of the state of things, but rather an appeal to the reader – to identify with fellow humans and extend a hand to those in need. ‘If we are truly in this together, my question is, why is the phrase necessary?’ And people rise to the occasion and try to take care of each other.’ Neon Microcosm is descended from the original Microcosm, and features a more intense color scheme and depth-of-field effects. All the problems we have – hunger, joblessness, illness, natural disaster – they are here too. This live wallpaper and daydream simulates a swim through a 3D colony of glowing microbes. ‘I think Telluride is a microcosm for the rest of the world. ‘I’m interested in the organisation of human effort,’ he explains to Wallpaper*. While a catchphrase of the Covid-19 era, used by governments and businesses alike to reassure an anxious public and justify exceptional measures, Strachan had in fact settled on the phrase five years ago. Its text will read ‘We are in this together’. BIOSPHERE 2 in Oracle, Ariz., was designed as a microcosm of Earth and contains its own mini worlds. Slated for later this year, the artwork will be installed in the landscape, along a gondola route that connects Telluride to the neighbouring town of Mountain Village. (Image credit: artist and Marian Goodman Gallery)
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