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Daniel Arsham: the Casio archaeologist Daniel Arsham: the Casio archaeologist
(8 days later)
When he was a child in Miami, Daniel Arsham's house was destroyed by a hurricane that swept through Florida. In a recent exhibition in Philadelphia, he sculpted the still-present scars into works of art: bits of broken glass were reshaped into anxious human forms, walls dripped and slooped, figures were smothered under resins that had been spun into rippling fabrics.When he was a child in Miami, Daniel Arsham's house was destroyed by a hurricane that swept through Florida. In a recent exhibition in Philadelphia, he sculpted the still-present scars into works of art: bits of broken glass were reshaped into anxious human forms, walls dripped and slooped, figures were smothered under resins that had been spun into rippling fabrics.
"Architecture has always played a pivotal role in my work," explains Arsham, who looks every inch the fashionable artist – circular steel-rimmed glasses, chic printed jersey – and has an elegant nerdishness to his quiet, deliberate voice. "Think about the storm as a quick, violent dismemberment: How I can manipulate architecture to make it as unsettling or uncanny as a storm? This is where I'm trying to reside, in a place that is simultaneously familiar and unsettling.""Architecture has always played a pivotal role in my work," explains Arsham, who looks every inch the fashionable artist – circular steel-rimmed glasses, chic printed jersey – and has an elegant nerdishness to his quiet, deliberate voice. "Think about the storm as a quick, violent dismemberment: How I can manipulate architecture to make it as unsettling or uncanny as a storm? This is where I'm trying to reside, in a place that is simultaneously familiar and unsettling."
The work is typical of a career that has continually explored such tensions – between static and dynamic, between history and future – and it's currently finding expression in dance and film pieces at the Art Basel art fair, which opens on 5 December in Miami. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1980, Arsham was schooled in New York, making his first work on returning to his Miami, where he opened his own gallery, Placemaker. His paintings – of eerie chasms on the moon, for example, and of geometric forms invading classical tableaux – were soon joined by sculpture, stage pieces and even architecture.The work is typical of a career that has continually explored such tensions – between static and dynamic, between history and future – and it's currently finding expression in dance and film pieces at the Art Basel art fair, which opens on 5 December in Miami. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1980, Arsham was schooled in New York, making his first work on returning to his Miami, where he opened his own gallery, Placemaker. His paintings – of eerie chasms on the moon, for example, and of geometric forms invading classical tableaux – were soon joined by sculpture, stage pieces and even architecture.
His fascination with the built environment led to Snarkitecture, a practice he runs with his friend, architect Alex Mustonen, that is devoted to repurposing spaces. A project in 2010 involved filling a New York storefront with dense insulation foam, then carving a space within it. "Architecture is an additive process," he says. "We build a floor and walls and a ceiling. For this project we do the opposite: subtractive architecture." He dug it out himself using a hammer. "It was satisfying for the first week, but after the fifth … "His fascination with the built environment led to Snarkitecture, a practice he runs with his friend, architect Alex Mustonen, that is devoted to repurposing spaces. A project in 2010 involved filling a New York storefront with dense insulation foam, then carving a space within it. "Architecture is an additive process," he says. "We build a floor and walls and a ceiling. For this project we do the opposite: subtractive architecture." He dug it out himself using a hammer. "It was satisfying for the first week, but after the fifth … "
One of his many starry collaborations involved working with R&B producer Pharrell, very much in vogue thanks to megahits with Daft Punk and Robin Thicke. A 1980s Casio keyboard – the model Pharrell first used to record tracks – was cast in volcanic ash and eroded to appear ancient; other objects in the same series include film projectors, payphones and cameras. "I'm taking the past and jumping over the present into the future," he says. "You don't quite know where you are in time."One of his many starry collaborations involved working with R&B producer Pharrell, very much in vogue thanks to megahits with Daft Punk and Robin Thicke. A 1980s Casio keyboard – the model Pharrell first used to record tracks – was cast in volcanic ash and eroded to appear ancient; other objects in the same series include film projectors, payphones and cameras. "I'm taking the past and jumping over the present into the future," he says. "You don't quite know where you are in time."
Are they a lament for the past? "I find it to be the opposite. It's more of a positive note – these things are lasting, whether it's a form or a memory." A few such objects recently appeared at Pippy Houldsworth gallery, in London; they looked like 20th-century artefacts that had been uncovered by some curious future race.Are they a lament for the past? "I find it to be the opposite. It's more of a positive note – these things are lasting, whether it's a form or a memory." A few such objects recently appeared at Pippy Houldsworth gallery, in London; they looked like 20th-century artefacts that had been uncovered by some curious future race.
Arsham buys the objects, and the ash and crystal they're cast in, entirely from eBay. "An archaeologist could probably learn everything there is to know, not only about western culture but also about the whole world right now, by cataloguing everything on eBay in a single minute," he says, laughing. "I get into these eBay black holes for six hours. I'll wake up in the morning and I'll have bought a huge McDonald's sign."Arsham buys the objects, and the ash and crystal they're cast in, entirely from eBay. "An archaeologist could probably learn everything there is to know, not only about western culture but also about the whole world right now, by cataloguing everything on eBay in a single minute," he says, laughing. "I get into these eBay black holes for six hours. I'll wake up in the morning and I'll have bought a huge McDonald's sign."
These themes of excavation were also expressed in his work with the late Merce Cunningham, who called him in 2005 after seeing his paintings in Miami. "I don't know why he thought I could do a stage design," says Arsham, who was nevertheless commissioned to make a set, not knowing what Cunningham was choreographing nor what the score would be. "At the time I was 24, he was 84 – it was a terrifying experience. I didn't just do something I could make in the studio and throw on stage. I tried to pay attention to things within that world that I could play with." These themes of excavation were also expressed in his work with the late Merce Cunningham, who called him in 2005 after seeing his paintings in Miami. "I don't know why he thought I could do a stage design," says Arsham, who was nevertheless commissioned to make a set, not knowing what Cunningham was choreographing nor what the score would be. "At the time I was 24, he was 84 – it was a terrifying experience. I didn't just do something I could make in the studio and throw on stage. I tried to pay attention to things within that world that I could play with." 
The first thing he came up with, ODE/EON, played with the idea of a dancer leaving stage left, going round the back and entering stage right. Except Arsham recast this vertically, sinking a facade of a building into the floor and making its base come down from the ceiling. Inspired by Cunningham's collaborator Robert Rauschenberg, who built sets afresh for each tour date, Arsham also had a wall installed at each venue on another tour. He would break through it during each performance, letting light spill onto the dark stage.The first thing he came up with, ODE/EON, played with the idea of a dancer leaving stage left, going round the back and entering stage right. Except Arsham recast this vertically, sinking a facade of a building into the floor and making its base come down from the ceiling. Inspired by Cunningham's collaborator Robert Rauschenberg, who built sets afresh for each tour date, Arsham also had a wall installed at each venue on another tour. He would break through it during each performance, letting light spill onto the dark stage.
"You have something happening and something not happening," he says. "The contrast is where the work lies. The first performance, I was digging the whole time. But you have to pause, so I started doing things like lying down behind the wall. No one could see me. I would listen to the music or people in the audience coughing.""You have something happening and something not happening," he says. "The contrast is where the work lies. The first performance, I was digging the whole time. But you have to pause, so I started doing things like lying down behind the wall. No one could see me. I would listen to the music or people in the audience coughing."
Jonah Bokaer, a choreographer in Cunningham's company, is now a regular collaborator. In one piece, Bokaer mimics a glass sculpture, vogueing in an ecstasy of paranoid tension. The pair will perform their new work, Occupant, in Miami on 6 December. Jonah Bokaer, a dancer for Cunningham's company and a choreographer in his own right, is now a regular collaborator. In one piece, Bokaer mimics a glass sculpture, vogueing in an ecstasy of paranoid tension. The pair will perform their new work, Occupant, in Miami on 6 December.
Another medium is now opening up for Arsham: film. In his Future Relic series, premiering at Art Basel, each of his aforementioned corroded sculptures will be accompanied by a film that charts the story of discovering the object. "An archaeologist will identify a location, and spend months uncovering this thing with little brushes. It's a euphoric moment for them when they finally get to an object."Another medium is now opening up for Arsham: film. In his Future Relic series, premiering at Art Basel, each of his aforementioned corroded sculptures will be accompanied by a film that charts the story of discovering the object. "An archaeologist will identify a location, and spend months uncovering this thing with little brushes. It's a euphoric moment for them when they finally get to an object."
It is, says Arsham, his face his full of glee, the same for him in the studio: "When we pull the pieces from their moulds, it's like Christmas!"It is, says Arsham, his face his full of glee, the same for him in the studio: "When we pull the pieces from their moulds, it's like Christmas!"
• Future Relic premieres on 5 December at the Webster, Miami Beach; Daniel Arsham and Jonah Bokaer perform Occupant on 5 and 6 December at Adrienne Arsht Centre, Miami.• Future Relic premieres on 5 December at the Webster, Miami Beach; Daniel Arsham and Jonah Bokaer perform Occupant on 5 and 6 December at Adrienne Arsht Centre, Miami.
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