Daniel Arsham Fossilizes Pharrell’s Keyboard:
“Mega-producer, rapper, and prolific collaborator Pharrell Williams has a concise explanation for the eclectic set of talent he endorses. ‘I like people who augment reality based on the way they see it, the way they think it should be,’ he told ARTINFO last night at the penthouse of the Standard Hotel, East Village. It makes perfect sense. In the past, he’s extolled the virtues of the deconstructivist architecture of Zaha Hadid and the poppy artwork of Takashi Murakami, and even showed his extensive KAWS collection to gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin more than a year before the now-blue-chip Brooklyn street artist joined the French’s gallery’s roster.
Daniel Arsham, a Perrotin artist and one of the latest names on Pharrell’s tastemaker list, was at the Standard along with the producer to unveil a one-night-only exhibition of their artistic collaboration. The works are an extension of Arsham’s ongoing sculpture series of future artifacts.
‘He asked me, what’s something you cherish from the past,’ said Pharrell, who offered memories of his first Casio keyboard and drum machine, remnants of the ‘pre-midi’ days of music. After a fortuitous eBay search, Arsham immortalized the ’80s relics by casting them in materials he described as having ‘associations of geology and time’: volcanic ash, rusted steel, crystal, and carbon dust.
‘Really, what I’m trying to do with this larger series, which in many ways this fits into, is take things that all of us know and have a relationship with, but are not present — old phones, payphones, old phone cameras — take these things, skip the present, and project them into the future,’ Arsham said. The result is a collection of vintage objects turned sci-fi archaeological finds. Furthering the archaeological theme of his work, he and Pharrell invited guests — among them Q-Tip, Terry Richardson, Jeffrey Deitch, Prince Philippos of Greece, and of course, KAWS — to don white gloves and handle the new pieces in the Standard penthouse.
But who’s next on Pharrell’s hit list? My Fakey Roley, the form of a Rolex Submariner cast in white silicon by artist Shelter Serra, caught his attention. ‘Fresh,’ he told me. ‘You’re killin’ it.’
Photo Gallery:’Published: September 12, 2013
(Via ARTINFO: News.)