miscellaneous...

In the summer of 2009, I was awarded a commission by the Information School at Syracuse University to install a sculpture in a window-well of their newly renovated building.

When the iSchool first sent out their call for project proposals, I had just finished reading Everything is Miscellaneous by David Weinberger. In the book, Weinberger discusses humanity's shift from physically-based organization systems to those that are digitally based. The idea is that information, in the digital realm, can simultaneously occupy multiple categories. This sort of multiplicity of location is, of course, impossible in the physical world. He argues that with this shift in organizing information comes a shift in thinking in general.

This idea of "miscellaneous" information seemed like a completely appropriate conversation to have in the context of the iSchool. It also seemed like the window-well itself was a miscellaneous space for a sculpture. The project that I proposed and ultimately completed was the abbreviated form of the word "miscellaneous" (misc.), fabricated from steel and chrome-plated. The mirror-like finish of the piece was intended to literally reflect the innovations in thought and technology taking place within the building.