Andrea Galvani Italy, b. 1973
Column on Varieties of Oblivion, 2016-ongoing
Scientific books, steel and magnets
210 x 30 x 24 cm
Photo: Andrea Cracco
Column on Varieties of Oblivion is a monument to intellectual labor, a living column like the mythological Tower of Babel. Recorded in the Book of Genesis, the myth begins at...
Column on Varieties of Oblivion is a monument to intellectual labor, a living column like the mythological Tower of Babel. Recorded in the Book of Genesis, the myth begins at a time when human beings spoke one language, and attempted to build a tower connecting Earth to heaven. God, angered by their pride, made it so that they could no longer understand each other. People separated and dispersed. The tower was never finished.
Inspired by Rosmarie Waldrop’s eponymous poem from the volume Reluctant Gravities (New Directions, 1999), Column on Varieties of Oblivion takes the shape of a stele—one of the oldest monumental forms used by early civilizations for funerary
or religious purposes, or simply to mark designated areas of land. The installation is formed through a depository process—by gathering and stacking books that contain scientific theories which have either become obsolete, fallen into oblivion, or were sedimented into later discoveries. Each book presents a specific and unique lecture in the history of research. Over the past decade, the artist has been collecting titles and recently began collaborating with universities worldwide to continue the project.
The result is an archaeological excavation in the house of human knowledge. In its current form, the installation encompasses texts from as early as the sixth century BCE, written in a range of languages both ancient and modern. Each element serves as a platform for new ideas—a foundation upon which future minds can construct new visions. At the same time, information remains undisclosed. The books are sealed, buried with the passage of time, most of them written in words we no longer understand.
Inspired by Rosmarie Waldrop’s eponymous poem from the volume Reluctant Gravities (New Directions, 1999), Column on Varieties of Oblivion takes the shape of a stele—one of the oldest monumental forms used by early civilizations for funerary
or religious purposes, or simply to mark designated areas of land. The installation is formed through a depository process—by gathering and stacking books that contain scientific theories which have either become obsolete, fallen into oblivion, or were sedimented into later discoveries. Each book presents a specific and unique lecture in the history of research. Over the past decade, the artist has been collecting titles and recently began collaborating with universities worldwide to continue the project.
The result is an archaeological excavation in the house of human knowledge. In its current form, the installation encompasses texts from as early as the sixth century BCE, written in a range of languages both ancient and modern. Each element serves as a platform for new ideas—a foundation upon which future minds can construct new visions. At the same time, information remains undisclosed. The books are sealed, buried with the passage of time, most of them written in words we no longer understand.