Unspoken Spaces

Eliasson's first monograph in more than a decade highlights selected works that the Danish-Icelandic artist considers "equally tools for scientific measurement and dream machines." These dual aims shine in the large-scale public sculptures showcased in this volume. Obscure geometries, including Ammann lines and Goldberg polyhedra, are put to work throughout, evoking wonder in locations across the globe. Eliasson's inspirations are disciplinarily catholic, including both Wassily Kandinsky and Gilles Deleuze, and very frequently architectural, with nods to Buckminster Fuller and Bruno Taut. Many of the resulting projects are as much structures as art: one work in Copenhagen is very simply a bridge. Eliasson has internalized a very architectural sensibility that eschews or actively frustrates any ideal or privileged angle for viewing. As Eliasson writes, "Central perspective breeds ocular numbness." Many works shift constantly with the movement of light, shadow, and season: the summer lattice becomes a winter cone of ice. As the surroundings change, so does one's perception of Eliasson's installations. If readers have encountered his works in person, they'll recognize this effect; if they haven't, this book is their chance. Color illus. (May)