‘Alan Greenspan’

Mixed Media

36”W x 24”H x 18”D

2013

A wall-hung sculpture/ installation depicting a scale model replica of a boiler room and associated piping. The upper control room contains a small strobe light, which mimics a fire alarm signal. A single red line runs from the edge of the piece and down the adjacent wall. The end pipe section terminates in a ‘Y’ form, which contains small mirrors. The wall- mounted line can be adjusted to fit each respective installation space.

I sought to create an architectural vignette which highlighted a mundane yet critical portion of the building system-treating it as if it were some wayward Faberge egg. As I immersed myself within the fabrication, I began to ruminate upon the famous enigmatic figure & former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank-Alan Greenspan. It seemed fitting to name this piece after him due to its nature: an outward appearance of order & control containing at its heart- a roiling, oozing zone of precarious existence. For me, Greenspan represented a charismatic and mysterious personage-one who by his appearance or disposition-could ease economic fears, or create an apocalyptic milieu by the merest of gestures. This form of influence though issued from an aged, august, even humble source could easily be perceived as some form of Kabuke played out in our collective psyche-turning us into a throng of diviners or interpreters of some unknown cryptic language. Balance/Control/Desire/Malfunction all coexist within the Greenspan Boiler Room.