Siah Armajani: An Ingenious World Exhibition at Parasol Unit

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by Bryony Harrison (subscribe)

Freelance writer and poet from London; if you would like to read my poetry, please check out my book, 'Poems on the Page', available from goo.gl/Ta4oAX.

Event: 18/09/2013 - 15/12/2013

Building Bridges to a Poetry Garden

'Wall', 1958, by Siah Armajani

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Do you have a personal reading space where you like to escape? Free from people and reality, you can close yourself away, relax in peace and quiet, and get swept up in a world of fantasy and words.

It is not always easy to find such a space. When outside, you are in public domain, where everyone is free to roam about, and at home, there is inevitable intrusion from the family.

Siah Armajani, had a way around this. He built his own. The Iran-born, American-based artist has literally been building bridges between visual and verbal creativity since the 1950s. As a lover of literature, his early works were inspired by Persian scripts and poetics. Armajani's placement of text within a physical space is something that has developed into large scale projects over the years, from model bridges, poetry gardens, and most recently the Alfred Whitehead Reading Room. This installation was commissioned as part of a site specific work the the outside area of the Parasol Gallery, which is displaying Siah Armajani's work until the 15th December.

Influenced by Persian culture, Western philosophy, and American vernacular, Armajani presents An Ingenious World, which places 'priority over function'. He believes democracy and communication are key to developing a healthy society, which is why he creates work established in the public realm.