WHAT COMES AROUND: LINES OF TYPES WHAT GOES AROUND: TYPES OF LINES

Edward Mayer
WHAT COMES AROUND: LINES OF TYPES
WHAT GOES AROUND: TYPES OF LINES
Found objects, surveyor’s tape, zip ties
2011

This sculpture consists of two parts created for two separate but related sites – the beams at either side of the Airport’s escalators, where travelers begin a trip and end it. The artist collected a vast and varied array of common objects, then wrapped them with white plastic surveyor’s tape. This covering serves to equalize, transform and unify the pieces as they perch atop one another and interlock with dynamic visual precariousness. While ascending or descending the escalators, curious travelers may recognize things or parts of things which they perhaps have left behind (domestic objects, shower caddies, shelving units), articles they are transporting with them (baby carriers, suitcase caddies), or items they might encounter at their destination (tiki torches, lawn chairs, music stands) along with a profusion of less identifiable linear objects.

By using found objects and common materials, Mayer avoids the traditional roles that preciousness and permanence often play in art. Instead, his interest lies in the way that line, material and space interact to summon the competing forces of chaos and order. By drawing in space with three dimensional lines and patterns, he connects disparate elements with intuitive spontaneity, and suggests new relationships among them, while reminding us of what we journey toward and return to.

Photos by Arthur Evans