Reflection, light and transparency are defining themes of modernism and provide a leitmotif for the American sculptor Josiah McElheny’s 2011 Bloomberg Commission, The Past Was A Mirage I’d Left Far Behind, installed at the Whitechapel Gallery from September 2010-July 2012. Seven mirrored, sculptural screens double, triple and refract the projections of reconfigured abstract films, proposing a new history of abstraction as a fragmented, sensory experience.
This book provides an introduction to the artist, a record of his new work, and locates both within the history of art. With essay by: Lisa Le Feuvre, introducing the work of McElheny as an observer of history; Daniel F. Herrmann, presenting an in-depth account of the commission; and Tamara Trodd, who joins the artist for a conversation about the ideas and interests behind this major new commission.
Paperback, 96 pages, 240 x 270 mm
ISBN 978–0–8548-8201-4
First published 2012