Art by Future Headspace. This is Artdog Koko’s pick for today’s post. We have decided that Koko can pick a work of art in the house collection and we’ll let you know more about the piece and the artist in the ART posts. Personally, I couldn’t be happier to see that Artdog Koko picked Elipsoprotomentophobia as the first work up for discussion.
This is what the piece looks like!
The work is 3 dimensional and in 2 parts: The lightbox with formula and the 3 dice with letter on them that can spell memory or forget or any combination of the letters ie. momoet, fomery, morgrg, memoet … Behind this work of art is a very clever mind playing with the idea of the fear of never having an original thought, Elipsiprotomentophobia.
Although the word/title Elipsoprotomentophobia sounds Greek and is to a degree, it is not grammatically correct Greek. The grammatically correct word would be Elipsoprototypophobia. When I asked the Artist about that I was told “mentophobia may be incorrect but it flows better when saying it”. So nice to know the Artist thought about it and decided to go with the flow. Take a look at the formula close up, noting the elements of chance on top, with the roll of the dice.
This contemporary work came into the collection oh about 8 or so years ago and I find the work of Future Headspace that which tickles the neurons to make them dance you into a chuckle or a smirky smile. It’s more than interesting and sometimes dark, usually clever and always cheeky. In my opinion this work is in the same family as Laurence Weiner. I never asked the Artists if there is a connection but that’s where my dancing neurons go. I never asked the Artists if there is a connection but that’s where my dancing neurons take me. Perhaps I’ll ask next time we chat. Mind you he’ll probably say something like “na, my influences are Dali, Mucha, Takashi Murakami, Mœbius and David Lynch. This is because I know for sure there was a Kevin influence.
It’s wonderful to be in direct communication with the Artist and be able reflect and go back to discuss work. When this piece was rehung here at Project851 that’s exactly what I did as I’ve had many questions about the collection from others and it’s always nice to revisit the work — kind of like this formula…
ME: I often get asked about the symbol after the equal sign and what it means. My short answer is that it’s connected to the eye and seeing yourself as well as your place in the world. What’s your take on the symbol?
Future Headspace:
Here’s where the work started visually. The sign comes from one of the design ideas I was working on at the time but it never got really finished... the design for the eye as a symbol of the sun, earth and moon. The sun being the white bit of the eye, the earth being the black circle in the middle and the moon the light reflection. The pieces left over when you cut that out (the negative space) leaves the icon in the top of the photo which looks like and atom on its path around the nucleus and so it is used as a symbol for the answer to the equation because the answer will range from the atomic to the universal.
ME: …and the equation relates to the answer how?
Future Headspace:
The equation is a formula to work out the meaning of ones life... the audience applies their values to the equation and will be able to answer the question to the meaning of (their) life.... and yes, title is 'fear of never having an original thought' I couldn't have a known symbol to represent the answer as it would suggest the answer is already known... thus the symbol had to be an unknown quantity... and that eye design was on my wall as I was creating the piece and so got included.
ME: So you looked up and saw it?
Future Headspace:
I had a big eye made but couldn't figure out how to use it...
ah well - that is the start of it all —-that piece the one is called ICU.
the preliminary drawing for that is the one I use for my website eye
ME: It makes me think that the formula applies to your life at different times as you have different experiences so it’s an evolving answer. The answer changes depending on how you see yourself at that point in your path of living.
Futer Headspace:
Yes, true but it wasn't so much that... more to do with people searching for the meaning of life... looking for purpose.
I can't tell you the meaning of life... but I can give you the formula to figure it out yourself.
I think you can apply values... as in digits... input figures (as it were) into the formula and get an answer at any time.
You take the square root of life experiences - thus you take all your experiences and figure out what is it that has been multiplied by itself within those experiences, then multiply that by them the outcome of the memory x time - which in itself is either, take a memory and a time and multiply, OR take all memories and multiply by a period of time OR any variation between those 2 options. Simple really when you have the formula.
ME: Hmm, interesting but then you really only have the complete answer to the formula once you’re done or kaput, so to speak.
Future Headspace:
Yup. Exactly
ME: Obviously you’re a person with a name so why do you refer to your work as Future Headspace and not signing your name?
Future Headspace:
Because that's the artist name... the hammer head etc. All Future Headspace. Like Elton John.
yup - never signed work as the artist not important... the work should stand on its own, no matter who made it... getting rid of the the art market selling artists not artwork.
ME: I like your play with LIFE saying life is just an “f” in lie. You also play around with words all the time how did that start in the beginning of Future Headspace?
Future Headspace:
In the very early initiation of Future Headspace... started this... stopped straight away as didn't really work as I wanted it too... but still exists in the background.
These two links like the ones embedded in the words above were the oldest, the first as Future Headspace:
https://ifartart.wordpress.com/author/futureheadspace/
https://ifartart.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/clollage-1-e1281806795100.jpg?w=584
ME: Thank you Artdog Koko sure knows how to pick ‘em!! Until she’s barking at the next piece in the collection!