Students are rallying to try and permanently keep DS(3), a structure made from interlocking metal fences, that stands near Fischer Fine Arts Library. Made by Norwegian artist and Penn’s Mellon Artist in Residence Knut Äsdam, it is scheduled to leave Penn later this month.
Credit: Amanda SuarezA structure of metal fences is striking up conversation on campus.
The structure, called DS(3), is designed by Norwegian artist and Penn’s Mellon Artist in Residence Knut Asdam. It was first presented in mid-October and will stay until the end of November. However, students and other members of the Penn community, led by History of Art professor Kaja Silverman, are making efforts to keep the installation piece permanently on campus.
The structure is a part of Edgelands, which Asdam worked on with Penn’s School of Design and the Slought Foundation. It is a series of exhibitions, seminars and public programs that concerns the “politics of space and the boundaries of subjectivity.”
The installation, located by Fisher Fine Arts Library, is made up of multiple interlocking metal rectangles. Silverman, who is in the process of meeting with those in charge of the University’s public art collection, said that since the launching of Edgelands, the “public project has been a regular topic of conversation” on campus.
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Penn’s campus currently features many public art pieces such as the Button in front of Van Pelt Library or the Convenant, more commonly referred to as the Tampons, by the highrises.
“This is a small part of a larger push” for more art on campus, College junior and Institute of Contemporary Art Student board member Isaac Kaplan said. Kaplan, who recently wrote an editorial in support of keeping the art piece on campus, explained that the ICA Student Board is trying to keep the “best quality art” on campus as best as they can because “Penn deserves a work of [DS(3)’s] caliber.”
As a result of the work, students have asked, “What kind of a place is the space inside the wall? What kind of a place is a university?” Silverman said. The conversation continues with a discussion of how spaces are related to each other and the areas around them. “This is an important conversation, and I would like it to continue,” Silverman said.
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“It’s really exciting that students are expressing a desire to continue those conversations and that they recognize Knut’s work as a prompt, a starting point and an opportunity to talk, to think and to debate,” Executive Director of Slought Aaron Levy said.
The question of whether DS(3) would be given a permanent location is subject to available space on campus, Levy said. Depending on the location, however, Levy explained that the work would “take on different meanings in relationship to whichever site it is ultimately given.”
The site, whether it’s in the center or edge of campus, “will have a great deal to do with how we approach the work,” he added.
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Regardless of its location, Levy said he hopes that DS(3) will have the chance to engage and stir dialogue in the Penn community.
“We didn’t know where it would lead. We didn’t know how long it would be up. We just knew we had a temporary opportunity granted to us to enable a conversation,” Levy said.
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