#tahitipehrson

ART ON PAPER

If you’re in NYC, come see us! Art At Viacom is at Art on Paper today through March 5 (we’re booth G1). We’ll be featuring work from former Artists-in-Residence Tahiti Pehrson and Crystal Wagner. Read more about the fair and Tahiti’s monumental work, “The Fates,” in Hyperallergic.

TAHITI PEHRSON

TAHITI PEHRSON

TAHITI PEHRSON

TAHITI PEHRSON

“My daughter took this photo while I was cutting some of the sides of the tower triptych. It was great to be able to share this experience with her. She really vibed with the team and made herself comfortable immediately. She had her own "apartment" set up on the 20th floor with East River views and her name on the placard. Not bad for a 10-year-old.”

TAHITI PEHRSON

Next week we’re welcoming Artist-in-Residence Tahiti Pehrson to take over our feed to share a behind-the-scenes look at his installation, “The Journey of Light.” Get ready with this series of videos – and keep reading after the jump for his full artist statement.

Tahiti Pehrson

The Journey of Light, 2016

American-born artist Tahiti Pehrson is proud to unveil The Journey of Light, a site-specific installation at Viacom’s iconic Times Square location in partnership with Art At Viacom. The Journey of Light is Pehrson’s most ambitious effort to date, featuring three immense light-based installations made entirely of 100% cotton rag paper made by Legion Paper. These installations feature more than 600 square feet of geometric patterns meticulously hand-cut using 11,083 X-ACTO blades. Designed to play on the natural light from the sun’s transit across the entrance windows at 1515 Broadway, the monochromatic paper structures generate a constant flux of shadows and shifting light as day transitions to night.

 Tahiti Pehrson’s artistic process revolves around the idea of transformation. The Journey of Light came to Pehrson during a decline in the health of his father in direct contrast to the increasing vitality and growth of his young daughter. The coexistence of these opposing life stages and the artist’s own relation to them inspired this three-part installation celebrating the transition through the major phases of life.

The Fates

The largest component of the installation is three 17-foot towers installed at the entrance of Viacom’s Times Square offices. A large “flower” emerges from concentric circles created by repeating patterns based on the Fibonacci sequence. The simultaneous images created by the collage of patterns and line variance embodies the core of Pehrson’s inspiration.

Two Legs During the Day

Taken from the Riddle of the Sphinx, Two Legs During the Day represents adulthood, wherein we are the subjects of our own attention. The fully immersive structure measures 6ft x 6ft x 10ft and features a door where the viewer may enter and become the subject. The moiré patterns envelop the subject, placing them firmly in the midst of simultaneously existing images, just as adulthood finds us perfectly placed to concurrently observe both the past and the future.

Transfiguration

The third and final component of the project features a hanging installation of geometric mandalas floating out over the escalator entrance space. When exiting the building, the rounds graduate in size, giving the impression they, too, are exiting with the viewer. Conversely, when entering the building, the hanging mandalas diminish in size and fall closer to the viewer as they walk deeper into the space, leading them into the cycle of life.