Deborah Aschheim manages to evoke both systematic and romantic characteristics simultaneously in a series of drawings and sculptures."Nostalgia for the Future" initially draws the visitor into the space with an impressive part imagined, part realistic depiction of a Capitol Records building enveloped in a barrage of metaphorical scaffolding that clings and attaches to the iconic structure the way groupies hang onto a rock star. The sensibility of the lines read not as a representation of the building but more like infused memories. Aschheim describes this and other buildings represented here as self portraits because their age mimics her own. But more than that, the buildings seem to represent the Modern era. The artist appears to appreciate those symbols of the recent past with a curiosity that does not honor but visually wonders and is perhaps saddened by their eventual fading relevance as supreme examples of architecture.
The imagined scaffolding continues in Aschheim’s sculptures, where the small, plastic, and thin cylinder objects resemble a web that reflects light, draws attention to the architecture and protectively surrounds the iconic LAX theme restaurant. As the scaffolding surrounds the most essential elements of the structure it evokes connections to security, age, and preciousness. The buildings themselves are not more than interesting studies. It is the combination of imaginative structures with real world architectural monuments and symbols that allows the art truly shine and function to full effect.
Published courtesy of ArtSceneCal ©2010
