Anthony Antonellis
Wappen
An exterior installation on the Kammer der Technik building which houses the art space Weltecho. Wappen, or coat of arms, identifies Weltecho as a citadel of the art world. In place of a shield, this coat of arms holds an icon which takes form only after an act by the observer.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION Kammer der Technik building preparation with the closure of third story window on norther façade. Signage: 10 x 10 meter spliced interlocking aluminum panels, surfaced with solid white plastic, image contours defined by 3M™ Diamond Grade™ Retroreflective Prismatic Sheeting, mounted to façade using butting clamp assembly connected to wall drilled supports.
The installation is 10 x 10 meter sign mounted on the northern façade. The shape of the sign forms a white cube. The white cube is depicted as a three-dimensional representation of a tesseract, or hypercube. Its contours are defined by retroreflective sheeting; the image becomes revealed or obscured contingent on ambient light. A white cube is a term used to describe a contemporary gallery or art space; the white cube houses art objects and presents the viewer with a void for the unadulterated reception of artwork. A white cube provides a timeless space; furthermore the burdens of its physical location and influence of the exterior world are diminished. Not all art spaces conform to this white cube classification, nonetheless identifying a location as a white cube readily conveys the underlying archetype. Like a flag driven into a mountaintop, the emblem of a white cube on the building brands the Kammer der Technik as an art space. In Wappen, the depiction of the cube is shown as a hypercube; this image extends the metaphor of the white cube into four-dimensional space. As we are bound to three-dimensional space, we cannot directly experience the fourth dimension. Like the arts, the abstract concept of the fourth-dimension cannot be held or touched and is only made material when imagined.