Flattened (Globalization)
fabricated and monochromed steel, vinyl
installation dimensions variable
2012
Artist Statement
With Flattened (Globalization), I attempt to symbolically address the exchange of ideas, information, technology, business practices, and policies across borders. Globalization can be thought as an opportunity for equitable economic expansion, and for spreading democracy throughout the world, but there is a threat of cultural homogenization that comes with this sharing. People in power, cultures with access to mass media, and nations with resources are dictating (directly or not) how those without such resources conduct their lives. As a result, the relatively powerless and developing nations are losing their unique identities and all that comes with them. Globalization is nothing new, however, with today’s ease and speed of information transfer, the rate at which the world is integrating is rising exponentially.
Flattened (Globalization)uses the recognizable 1980’s iconic game puzzle form, to portray the nature of globalization; the “scrambling” of the cube is analogous to the scrambling of national identity as information is exchanged across borders. Erno Rubik intended for his puzzle solution to yield a cube with all six sides having unique colors. Flattened (Globalization) shows a possible new solution to the globalization puzzle…
My work addresses the delicate relationships we as humans have with the Earth—both in the natural and sociological contexts—and how our decisions sculpt the world we live in today, as well as the world we will pass to future generations. My hope is that we will be able to look past short-term gains in favor of a perspective that will prove to be sustaining across borders and through time.
