Ryan Mandell
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Works from recent work and Dreamhome.
” The psychological state of a society, its tendencies, hopes, and fears, are illuminated by the structures it chooses to create, and the ways in which those structures are used. Architecture is initially born from, and dictated by human need and desire. However, once a structure is complete and comes into use, it assumes a life of its own and begins to impress its self on the individuals that encounter it in unforeseen ways. My sculpture employs scaled down and streamlined versions of existing architectural forms that I either re-contextualize or re-present in such a way that the architecture’s social influence (or potential for social influence) becomes more evident.
Through the study of contemporary architecture in developed or developing countries one can also begin to realize universalities that exist from community to community throughout humanity, regardless of nationality, race, or geographical location. By being aware of the repeated formal choices in architecture around the world, a set of universal concerns and desires begin to reveal themselves: modularity, order, efficiency, and convenience. The sculptural objects I create call into question the validity of adopting these characteristics as ideals.”