{"id":5446,"date":"2022-05-23T10:32:47","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T14:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/?p=5446"},"modified":"2023-04-21T11:08:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T15:08:41","slug":"tomas-saraceno-particular-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/2022\/05\/23\/tomas-saraceno-particular-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom\u00e1s Saraceno: Particular Matter(s)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Shed, New York, NY
\nFebruary 11\u2013April 17, 2022
\nby Sarah-Rose Hansen<\/h4>\n

Over the course of the eight galleries in Tom\u00e1s Saraceno\u2019s Particular Matter(s) <\/em>exhibition, which was on view through mid-April at The Shed in midtown Manhattan, three separate moments introduce lighting shifts that are likely to cause the viewer to pause for pupillary adaptation. <\/span>In day-to-day life, moments of ocular adjustment are, at best, an incidental inconvenience. In <\/span>Particular Matter(s)<\/span><\/i>, however, dramatic light environments constitute, for Saraceno and Shed curator Emma Enderby, the exhibition\u2019s luminous lifeblood. By harnessing the narrative power of night and day, the Argentine-born, Berlin-based artist\u2019s lightscapes compel viewers to consider <\/span>both the beauty and the gravity of the exhibition\u2019s \u201ccall for environmental justice.\u201d1<\/sup><\/p>\n

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Figure 1. Tom\u00e1s Saraceno, Webs of At-tent(s)-ion<\/em> (detail), 2020. Seven spider frames, spider silk, carbon fibers, lights. Dimensions variable. Artwork \u00a9 Studio Tom\u00e1s Saraceno. Courtesy the artist; spider\/webs; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York\/Los Angeles; and Neugerriemschneider, Berlin. Photos by Laura Swenson, 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saraceno’s photic narrative begins with the near pitch-blackness of <\/span>Webs of At-tent(s)-ion<\/span><\/i> (2020), in the first gallery (fig. 1). The shift from the vivid springtime daylight of the exhibition entryway to this gallery\u2019s fully darkened interior is accompanied by the first of the installation\u2019s moments of visual adjustment. After stepping through a weighty blackout curtain, viewers must pause to allow for a moment of \u201cdark adaptation,\u201d a scientific term used to refer to the physiological process of pupil dilation and rod activation that allows the human eye to see at night.2\u00a0<\/sup>After this disarming moment, visitors begin to move through the gallery to marvel at seven stunningly intricate, spot-lit spiderwebs, which are dusted with noctilucent fibers and encased in glass displays.3<\/sup> Through this process, the darkened viewing space takes on an atmosphere of peace and contemplation, allowing the viewer to meditate on issues that Saraceno points to in his co-authored wall texts, such as \u201cthe rights of invertebrates\u201d who \u201cfeel the harmful, environmental effects of the Capitalocene.\u201d4<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

A second dramatic light shift meets viewers in the second gallery, where the exhibition\u2019s namesake work, <\/span>Particular Matter(s) <\/span><\/i>(2020), is visually composed of a light beam plus the \u201ccosmic dust\u201d and PM2.5 it illuminates.5<\/sup> Upon entry, spectators are briefly, ocularly overwhelmed by the forceful light beam, which is aimed at the room\u2019s doorway. Viewers are forced to undergo a rapid \u201clight adaptation\u201d\u2014the reverse physiological process from dark adaptation\u2014and upon moving out of the spotlight, a renewed adjustment to the darkness, which fills the room beyond its luminous entry point (fig. 2). Once inside this tranquil, darkened viewing area, beholders can stand back and observe the light or approach it from the side and manipulate it. Saraceno suggests, in his wall text, that visitors also consider the pollution on which the gallery\u2019s particle illumination centers its focus. This beholding area reiterates the concept of darkness introduced in Webs of At-tent(s)-ion<\/i>, suggesting that it is a space for reflecting on serious issues that might at first cause discomfort, but that can ultimately stimulate peaceful contemplation and discovery. This darkness, which in some artistic contexts can function independently of an idea of night, becomes firmly nocturnally linked in the next room through iconographic references to the moon, in pollution-inequality-referencing Shed commission We Do Not All Breathe the Same Air <\/i>(2019\u20132022),<\/i> and the occult, in Arachnomancy Cards <\/i>(2018\u20132022).6<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 2. Tom\u00e1s Saraceno, Particular Matter(s)<\/em>, 2020. Light beam, cosmic dust, PM2.5 (particulate matter), stellar wind, air movement, kinesthetic feedback, sonic waves. Light beam approx. 49 feet long. Artwork \u00a9 Studio Tom\u00e1s Saraceno. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York\/Los Angeles; and Neugerriemschneider, Berlin.\u00a0Photos by Laura Swenson, 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After two more rooms of experiencing the nocturnal, with sonic work <\/span>Sounding the Air <\/span><\/i>(2020) and the red-laser-illuminated spider silk webs of <\/span>How to entangle the universe in a spider\/web? <\/span><\/i>(2020)<\/span>,<\/span><\/i> viewers make their way into the soft-gray lighting of <\/span>A Thermodynamic Imaginary<\/span><\/i> (2020). Amidst a skyscape of suspended mylar orbs, which suggests the ecological interconnectedness of the entire universe, an inflection point emerges in Saraceno\u2019s photic trajectory (fig. 3). A large projected film portrays the exact moment of a solar eclipse, with a powerful ray of sunlight just beginning to emerge as the video cuts and is looped again.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 3. Tom\u00e1s Saraceno, A Thermodynamic Imaginary<\/em>, 2020. Various materials. Dimensions variable. Artwork \u00a9 Studio Tom\u00e1s Saraceno. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York\/Los Angeles; and Neugerriemschneider, Berlin.\u00a0Photo by the author, 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From this point onwards, the emergence of light becomes a focus of Saraceno\u2019s narrative. In <\/span>Free the Air: How to hear the universe in a spider\/web <\/span><\/i>(2022)<\/span>,<\/span><\/i> an immersive installation specially commissioned by The Shed for <\/span>Particular Matter(s)<\/span><\/i>, viewers lie down on one of two ninety-five-feet-diameter webs, which are horizontally suspended one above the other, at forty feet and twelve feet from the ground, respectively (fig. 4). At the end of a darkened, eight-minute symphony, which includes atmospheric and rumbling sounds with accompanying vibrations felt through the suspended webs, a sunlike luminescent orb at the top of the ovoid room brightens to full radiance. Visual adaptation again becomes central; as viewers begin to sit up from the symphony, they must allow their eyes to adjust and take in the luminosity of day.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 4. Tom\u00e1s Saraceno, Free the Air: How to hear the universe in a spider\/web<\/em>, 2022. Custom steel, wire net, wood, light, LFE, shakers, fog. Diameter: 95 feet. Artwork \u00a9 Studio Tom\u00e1s Saraceno. Commissioned by The Shed. Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York\/Los Angeles; Neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Andersen\u2019s, Copenhagen; Ruth Benzacar, Buenos Aires; and Pinksummer Contemporary Art, Genoa. Photo by the author, 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The final work of the exhibition, which follows the visitor\u2019s exit from <\/span>Free the Air<\/span><\/i>, gives artistic form to Saraceno\u2019s environmentalist vision.7<\/sup> Museo Aero Solar <\/i>(2007), <\/i>a solar balloon made of crowd-sourced plastic bags\u2014a specific repurposing of the PM2.5 pollutants referenced earlier in the show\u2014is presented in vibrant color (fig. 5). The brightly lit room feels powerfully diurnal and vividly optimistic. With this concluding installation, Saraceno has embraced the full nychthemeron; he has encouraged viewers\u2019 discovery of night\u2019s mysteries and then, in stages, of a daylight call to action. In this incorporation of both nocturnality and diurnality, Saraceno joins a long tradition of scholars and artists who have worked outside a Manichaean characterization of the night as evil, instead understanding the after-dark as multifaceted, with dynamic contemplative potential.8<\/sup>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 5. Tom\u00e1s Saraceno, Museo Aero Solar<\/em> (detail), 2007\u2013. Reused plastic bags, tape, ventilator, polyester rope. Approx. 39.4 x 52.5 x 19 feet. Photo by Laura Swenson, 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The effect of this dual embrace is powerfully poignant; Saraceno\u2019s viewers walk away from the exhibition equipped not only with an impulse towards the expansive optimism of daylight, but also, crucially, with a nocturnal pathway to reach that disposition. Saraceno\u2019s vision\u2014sustainable, egalitarian, interconnected\u2014is ambitious, but through <\/span>Particular Matter(s)<\/span><\/i>\u2019s illuminative journey from night into day, he inspires us to believe it is possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

____________________<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah-Rose Hansen <\/b>is an MA candidate in art history at Columbia University. Her current research deals with representations of the nocturnal in the sixteenth-century Veneto. She holds a Graduate Diploma in the history of art from the University of Warwick and a BA in psychology and Portuguese from Stanford University.<\/span><\/p>\n

____________________<\/span><\/p>\n

Footnotes<\/h4>\n

1. Wall text, <\/span>Particular Matter(s)<\/span><\/i>, The Shed, New York.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. This review makes reference to physiological processes that are specific to beholders who can see; it does not seek to represent the experiences of visitors who are blind or who have low vision.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. The spotlights are directly listed among the work\u2019s materials on <\/span>Webs of At-tent(s)-ion<\/span><\/i>\u2019s wall panel.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Wall text, <\/span>Particular Matter(s)<\/span><\/i>, The Shed, New York.<\/span> There is an extensive literature on the Capitalocene outside the context of Saraceno\u2019s work. It\u00a0is defined in the exhibition\u2019s introductory wall text as \u201cthe current era of Earth\u2019s existence characterized by the destructive effects of capitalism on the environment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Wall text, <\/span>Particular Matter(s)<\/span><\/i>, The Shed, New York.<\/span> The \u201ccosmic dust\u201d and \u201cPM2.5\u201d descriptors pertain to the room\u2019s naturally occurring dust particles, which are made visible by the powerful light beam. \u201cCosmic dust\u201d refers to the non-earthly origins of some dust particles, while PM2.5 refers to a specific pollutant, one of the most harmful.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Practices of the occult have a long-established tradition of taking place at night.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. The Shed\u2019s website, and a gallery attendant on the day of this author\u2019s visit, make it clear that the order of artworks described in this review is the order recommended by the artist. In a logistical rearrangement on the part of the venue, however, many viewers are guided to <\/span>Free the Air <\/span><\/i>prior to visiting the initial six rooms of galleries. The <\/span>final installation room, in either trajectory, is <\/span>Museo Aero Solar<\/span><\/i>, but its positioning up an escalator makes it possible to miss. Saraceno\u2019s works are easily compelling enough to stand outside of his exact intended ordering, but the subtle power of the luminous buildup is partially inverted in the rearranged viewing.<\/span><\/p>\n

8. See, for two examples of more complex considerations of night, Pseudo-Dionysius and Saint John of the Cross.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Shed, New York, NY February 11\u2013April 17, 2022 by Sarah-Rose Hansen Over the course of the eight galleries in Tom\u00e1s Saraceno\u2019s Particular Matter(s) exhibition, which was on view through mid-April at The Shed in midtown Manhattan, three separate moments introduce lighting shifts that are likely to cause the viewer to pause for pupillary adaptation. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17807,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17807"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5446"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5701,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5446\/revisions\/5701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sequitur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}