"After
Monet (Water Lilies)," 2005-2006
Medium: 41,920 spools of thread, stainless steel ball
chain and hanging apparatus,
and nine hemispherical mirrors mounted on the opposing wall
Commissioned by Wells Real Estate Funds
Site: 4250 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia
I am interested in the link between art and technology, how the eyes prioritize, and reality as a subjective experience vs. an absolute truth. As a visual artist, I cannot think of a topic more stimulating and yet so basic, than the act of seeing--how the human brain makes sense of the visual world. -- Devorah Sperber, 2005
After Monet (Water Lilies) is a site-specific installation, constructed from *41,920 spools of thread, which coalesce into the image of Monet's "Water Lilies" (collection of the Museum of Modern Art, NYC) when seen reflected in nine hemispherical mirrors mounted on the opposing curved wall.
Devorah Sperber selected an impressionist work by Monet as a subject matter for the sophisticated and complimentary color palette, as well as for the reference of modern day pixels (thread spools) to pointillism.
Experiential Component: Viewers first perceive the spools of thread as a random arrangement of colorful cylinders, getting only a hint of the inherent imagery from the entrances to the lobby. It is only after people walk towards the center of the lobby that the thread spools are visible in nine hemispherical mirrors, revealing the subtle imagery of Monet's Water Lilies. This shift in perception functions as a dramatic mechanism to present the idea that there is no one truth or reality, emphasizing subjective reality vs. an absolute truth.
Devorah Sperber is a New York-based artist whose sculptures, composed of thousands of ordinary objects, negotiate a terrain between low and high tech. Her labor-intensive works explore repetition and the effects of digital technology on perception, scale, and subjective reality. -Patricia Phillips, Executive Editor, Art Journal
© Devorah Sperber Inc. 2000
