note

s

Dia

na T

hate

r's c

omm

ents

hav

e be

en e

xcer

pted

fro

m a

con

vers

atio

n be

twee

n C

arol

R

eese

and

Dia

na T

hate

r on

the

occ

asio

n of

the

ope

ning

of

her

exhi

bitio

n D

elph

ine

at

the

Sec

essi

on, V

ienn

a, 2

000,

pub

lishe

d in

Dia

na T

hate

r: D

elph

ine

(Vie

nna:

Sec

essi

on,

2000

), p

p. 2

3-28

. R

eprin

ted

by p

erm

issi

on f

rom

Car

ol R

eese

and

Dia

na T

hate

r.

1. S

ee A

dam

Fra

nk, '

Qua

ntum

H

oney

bees

," D

isco

ver

18, n

o. 1

1 (N

ovem

ber

1997

).

2.

Dia

na T

hate

r, '

...

and

the

imag

e as

a n

arra

tive,

" dis

cuss

ion

with

Kat

hryn

Kan

jo,

in

Dia

na T

hate

r: S

elec

ted

Wor

ks 19

92-1

996

(Bas

el:

Kun

stha

lle,

1996

), n

. p.

sele

cted

bi

blio

grap

hy

Dia

na T

hate

r: D

elph

ine.

Vie

nna:

Sec

essi

on,

2000

. In

terv

iew

by

Car

ol R

eese

.

the

best

ani

mal

s ar

e th

e fla

t an

imal

s-th

e be

st s

pace

is

the

deep

spa

ce.

Ed.

Pet

er

Noe

ver.

Los

Ang

eles

: M

AK

Cen

ter

for

Art

and

Arc

hite

ctur

e,

1998

. Tex

t by

Am

elia

Jone

s, C

arol

McM

icha

el R

eese

, and

Dia

na T

hate

r.

Spa

n: J

essi

ca B

rons

on,

Mar

iko

Mor

i, D

iana

Tha

ter.

Auc

klan

d: A

rtsp

ace,

199

8. T

ext

by G

iova

nni

Intr

a.

Scu

lptu

re P

roje

cts

in M

unst

er

1997

. Ed.

Kla

us B

ussm

ann,

Kas

par

Kon

ig,

and

Flo

rian

Mat

zner

. Mun

ster

: W

estfa

lisch

es

Land

esm

useu

m,

in a

ssoc

iatio

n w

ith V

erla

g H

atje

,

Ost

filde

rn-R

uit,

1997

.

Dia

na T

hate

r: S

elec

ted

Wor

ks 1

992-

1996

. B

asel

: K

unst

halle

Bas

el,

1996

. Dis

cuss

ion

with

Kat

hryn

Kan

jo.

Jura

ssic

T

echn

olog

ies:

Rev

enan

t. S

ydne

y: A

rt G

alle

ry o

f N

ew S

outh

Wal

es,

1996

. T

exts

by

Lesl

ie C

amhi

, Lyn

ne C

ooke

, Jon

atha

n C

rary

, Sar

at M

ahar

aj, a

nd E

lisab

eth

Sus

sman

.

Dia

na T

hate

r: C

hina

Chi

cago

: T

he R

enai

ssan

ce S

ocie

ty,

1995

. Tex

ts b

y C

olin

Gar

dner

, Tim

othy

Mar

tin,

and

Dia

na T

hate

r.

Witt

e de

With

: C

ahie

r N

o. 3

. E

d. B

arba

ra v

an K

ooij.

Rot

terd

am:

Witt

e de

With

Cen

ter

for

Con

tem

pora

ry A

rt,

1995

. Tex

t by

Tim

othy

Mar

tin a

nd c

over

by

Dia

na T

hate

r.

chec

klis

t

Kno

ts +

Sur

face

s, 2

001

vide

o in

stal

latio

n

5 LC

D v

ideo

pro

ject

ors,

16

vid

eo m

onito

rs,

6 D

VD

pla

yers

, Le

e fil

ters

, M

adic

o w

indo

w

film

,

exis

ting

arch

itect

ure

Bor

n in

196

2 in

San

Fra

ncis

co,

Dia

na T

hate

r st

udie

d ar

t hi

stor

y at

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

and

then

acq

uire

d an

MF

A f

rom

Art

Cen

ter

Col

lege

of

Des

ign

in P

asad

ena

in 1

990.

S

ince

her

firs

t so

lo s

how

at

Dor

othy

Gol

deen

Gal

lery

in

San

ta M

onic

a in

199

1, s

he h

as

exhi

bite

d w

idel

y th

roug

hout

N

orth

Am

eric

a an

d E

urop

e, in

clud

ing

num

erou

s bi

enni

als,

such

as

the

Car

negi

e In

tern

atio

nal

(199

9),

Joha

nnes

burg

B

ienn

ial

(199

7),

Whi

tney

Bie

nnia

l ( 1

997,

199

5), S

ydne

y B

ienn

ial

( 199

6),

Kw

angj

u B

ienn

ial

( 199

5), a

nd th

e Ly

on

Bie

nnia

l ( 1

995)

. In

add

ition

to

one-

pers

on s

how

s at

the

MA

K C

ente

r fo

r A

rt a

nd

Arc

hite

ctur

e, L

os A

ngel

es (

199

8), t

he W

alke

r A

rt C

ente

r, M

inne

apol

is (

199

7), K

unst

halle

Bas

el (

1996

), T

he R

enai

ssan

ce S

ocie

ty,

Chi

cago

(19

96),

and

Witt

e de

With

, R

otte

rdam

(199

4),

and

else

whe

re,

her

mos

t re

cent

mus

eum

exh

ibiti

ons

wer

e he

ld a

t th

e T

ents

ta

Kon

stha

lle,

Sto

ckho

lm (

2001

) an

d th

e V

ienn

a S

eces

sion

(20

00).

Tha

ter

lives

and

wor

ks

in L

os A

ngel

es.

Fun

ding

for

thi

s ex

hibi

tion

has

been

pro

vide

d by

the

Lann

an F

ound

atio

n an

d th

e

mem

bers

of

the

Dia

Art

Cou

ncil.

( (\

~

" I

;5 "' ~ I ]

( (

Dia

na

Th

ater

K

nots

+ S

urfa

ces

Janu

ary

24,

2001

-Jan

uary

20

02

Dia

cen

ter

for

the

arts

54

8 w

est

22n

d s

tree

t n

ew y

ork

Dia

na

Th

ater

Kno

ts +

Sur

face

s

I w

ant

to o

ffer

an a

rtis

tic s

pace

whe

re c

onsc

ious

ness

may

be

reco

nstr

ucte

d, a

s op

pose

d

to m

akin

g w

ork

that

rei

nfor

ces

wha

t it

has

been

ass

umed

to

be .

...

My

idea

is t

hat

to

deve

lop

a ne

w v

iew

er, o

r a

new

fra

me

of v

iew

ing,

one

mus

t pr

esen

t as

sub

ject

s th

ose

who

are

trad

ition

ally

see

n as

obj

ects

. T

his

is a

pla

ce t

o be

gin.

In

orde

r to

tra

nsfo

rm a

vie

wer

who

pro

babl

y br

ings

to

the

wor

k a

sing

ular

poi

nt o

f vi

ew, I

pre

sent

her

with

a d

isco

ncer

ting

spac

e, o

ne w

ith i

mag

es e

mbe

dded

in

it th

at m

ake

it m

ove,

that

cha

nge

it. A

nd t

hese

imag

es u

nder

min

e th

e si

ngul

arity

of

time,

spa

ce,

and

bein

g. T

hey

do i

t th

roug

h th

e im

age

of n

atur

e-an

imal

s w

hose

exp

erie

nce

of t

ime

and

spac

e ne

ver

seem

s to

me

to b

e si

ngul

ar

and

who

exp

ress

the

ir ex

perie

nce

of "

pres

ent-

ness

· w

ith t

heir

who

le b

eing

s.

Inst

alla

tion

is a

bout

scu

lptin

g tim

e an

d sp

ace;

it i

s no

t ne

cess

arily

pic

toria

l, no

r is

it o

bjec

t­

base

d. T

hat i

nsta

llatio

n di

rect

ly a

ddre

sses

con

scio

usne

ss-t

hat

it ra

ises

que

stio

ns a

bout

subj

ectiv

ity-is

w

hat

mos

t in

tere

sts

me.

Whe

n on

e m

oves

thr

ough

the

spa

ce o

f an

ins

talla

­

tion

and

is a

war

e of

thi

s m

ovem

ent,

one

achi

eves

wha

t R

ober

t M

orris

cal

ls "

pres

ent-

ness

. •

One

eng

ages

wha

t M

orris

des

crib

es a

s th

e "!

'-liv

ing,

im

agel

ess,

her

e an

d no

w i

n tim

e an

d

spac

e-as

op

pose

d to

the

"me'

-the

se

lf re

mem

bere

d in

an

arre

sted

sta

te,

not

in m

otio

n

but

as i

f in

a p

hoto

grap

h, f

roze

n in

tim

e. It

is t

his

poss

ibili

ty o

f "p

rese

nt-n

ess•

tha

t in

stal

la­

tion

addr

esse

s, a

nd i

t is

wha

t de

fines

it

as a

med

ium

equ

ival

ent

to p

aint

ing

and

scul

ptur

e.

Thi

s is

why

my

wor

k is

so

muc

h ab

out

mol

ding

spa

ce a

nd p

ullin

g ap

art

the

arch

itect

ure,

as

oppo

sed

to m

akin

g na

rrat

ives

. I d

on't

wan

t th

e vi

ewer

to

fall

into

the

lin

ear

prog

ress

ion

of

a st

ory-

this

is

why

I g

ive

my

wor

k no

nar

rativ

e di

men

sion

. It i

s th

e sc

ulpt

ural

qua

litie

s of

the

wor

k th

at I

am

try

ing

to m

ake

dim

ensi

onal

, pal

pabl

e, d

eep.

I w

ant

to u

se a

rchi

tect

ural

elem

ents

with

in a

n in

stal

latio

n to

cre

ate

a di

alog

ue w

ith m

y w

ork,

a d

ialo

gue

betw

een

scul

ptur

e an

d ar

chite

ctur

e.

The

imag

e is

not

ulti

mat

ely

the

mos

t im

port

ant

thin

g-th

e cr

eatio

n of

spa

ce i

s. S

o, th

is is

wha

t I

wor

k to

ach

ieve

thr

ough

edi

ting

and

re-e

ditin

g ..

.. T

he e

dite

d w

ork

is c

ompl

eted

in

the

editi

ng r

oom

, but

the

pie

ce i

s co

mpl

eted

in

the

inst

alla

tion

proc

ess.

I am

giv

en a

spa

ce,

then

I h

ave

to f

igur

e ou

t ho

w t

o de

al w

ith i

t. I a

m t

ryin

g to

use

inst

alla

tion

to f

oreg

roun

d sp

ace;

thi

s, f

or t

he m

ost

part

, is

the

foc

us o

f m

y w

ork.

It's

ver

y

diffi

cult

to m

ake

spac

e vi

sibl

e, b

ut t

his

is t

he t

ask

I set

[fo

r} m

ysel

f in

wor

king

with

in

wha

teve

r is

the

giv

en a

rchi

tect

ure.

I th

ink

of s

pace

as

...

cons

ciou

snes

s an

d ar

chite

ctur

e to

geth

er .

...

For

me,

the

fem

i­

nine

sen

sibi

lity,

whi

ch a

nyon

e of

any

gen

der

can

spor

t, is

one

tha

t is

not

sin

gula

r ....

I w

ant

the

view

er t

o no

t st

and

still

, to

fee

l th

e w

ork

mov

ing

and

to u

nder

stan

d it

in m

otio

n. O

ne p

oint

per

spec

tive

is n

eith

er d

epic

ted

nor

insc

ribed

in

the

wor

k. M

ul­

tiple

poi

nts

of p

ersp

ectiv

e an

d fla

t sp

ace

are

form

ed.

...

It is

with

in t

his

spac

e th

at I

find

free

dom

.

I mak

e fig

urat

ive

imag

es i

n a

pict

oria

l m

ediu

m a

nd p

lace

the

m i

n th

e ex

hibi

tion

spac

e in

an a

ttem

pt t

o fo

rm w

ork

in w

hich

tw

o th

ings

, w

hich

are

alm

ost

impo

ssib

le t

o ta

lk a

bout

but

that

can

sur

ely

be f

elt,

inte

rsec

t-th

e w

orld

s of

tim

e (v

ideo

) an

d sp

ace

(arc

hite

ctur

e)-s

uch

that

one

kin

d of

spa

ce (

the

flat

spac

e of

vid

eo)

is w

rapp

ed w

ithin

an

enfr

amin

g sp

ace

(wal

ls, c

eilin

g, f

loor

) th

at i

t al

so d

esta

biliz

es.

For

m a

nd c

onte

nt (

and

I alw

ays

incl

ude

tool

s/te

chno

logy

in

"fo

rm")

are

ins

epar

able

fro

m

one

anot

her.

A c

amer

a, a

cam

era

angl

e, a

nd a

film

ed s

ubje

ct a

ll se

rve

to r

einf

orce

one

anot

her;

thi

s is

how

tec

hnol

ogy

and

beau

ty c

oexi

st.

The

way

the

thin

g is

for

med

and

the

tool

s us

ed t

o fo

rm i

t ca

n be

one

and

the

sam

e. T

he c

onte

nt i

n m

y w

ork

is a

mod

el f

or

wha

t I

wan

t th

e fo

rm t

o be

.

I th

ink

hidi

ng t

he t

echn

olog

y sh

ows

a m

isun

ders

tand

ing

ultim

atel

y of

the

med

ia.

On

the

othe

r ha

nd,

fore

grou

ndin

g th

e te

chno

logy

is

just

ab

out

a sh

ow o

f m

oney

. T

rans

cend

ence

happ

ens

ever

yday

in e

very

kin

d of

spa

ce, a

nd m

y po

int

is t

hat

it ca

n ha

ppen

her

e an

d no

w

with

old

, ugl

y te

chno

logy

and

the

mac

hine

s bu

zzin

g, b

ecau

se t

hat

tech

nolo

gy f

orm

s th

e

imag

e an

d ho

lds

the

imag

e an

d is

end

emic

to

it.

-Dia

na

Tha

ter

In K

nots

+

Sur

face

s (2

001

), c

omm

issi

oned

for

Dia

's t

hird

-flo

or

galle

ry,

Dia

na T

hate

r ta

kes

as h

er p

oint

of

depa

rtur

e a

prov

ocat

ive

hypo

thes

is f

or c

hart

ing

six-

dim

ensi

onal

sp

ace.

Pro

pose

d by

the

youn

g m

athe

mat

icia

n B

arba

ra S

hipm

an,

it re

veal

s ce

rtai

n te

lling

ana

lo­

gies

with

a m

ap o

f th

e be

e da

nce:

upo

n re

turn

ing

to t

he h

ive

afte

r lo

catin

g a

new

sou

rce

of f

ood

a w

orke

r be

e co

mm

unic

ates

to

her

fello

ws

the

dire

ctio

n, d

ista

nce,

and

loc

atio

n of

the

site

tog

ethe

r w

ith d

etai

ls a

bout

the

qua

lity

of t

he p

olle

n or

nec

tar

it co

ntai

ns.'

Enc

ount

erin

g S

hipm

an's

the

ory

by c

hanc

e se

vera

l yea

rs a

go, T

hate

r be

cam

e in

trig

ued

by

its a

ccou

nt o

f w

ays

of n

egot

iatin

g sp

ace

and

time

who

lly o

utsi

de h

uman

exp

erie

nce,

if

not

cogn

izan

ce.

She

was

equ

ally

fas

cina

ted

by it

s co

rrel

ativ

es w

ith t

he m

atrix

in

whi

ch b

ees

func

tion.

Giv

en th

at t

hey

are

high

ly a

ttune

d to

the

sub

tlest

shi

fts i

n th

e ea

rth'

s m

agne

tic

pole

s, n

ot o

nly

can

wor

ker

bees

con

vey

info

rmat

ion

to t

heir

coho

rts

in t

erm

s ra

dica

lly

unlik

e ou

rs,

but

they

per

ceiv

e an

d na

viga

te s

pace

acc

ordi

ng t

o fu

ndam

enta

lly

diffe

rent

sets

of

coor

dina

tes.

With

hex

agon

ally

fac

eted

co

mpl

ex e

yes

and

sens

ory

mec

hani

sms

alig

ned

to a

ltern

ate

time-

spac

e an

d lig

ht r

atio

s, th

ey b

uild

a m

ilieu

of

hexa

gona

lly s

hape

d

cellu

lar

stru

ctur

es,

the

hone

ycom

b fr

om w

hich

the

hiv

e is

com

pose

d.

Ref

eren

ce t

o th

is t

hesi

s le

d T

hate

r to

map

Dia

's g

alle

ry w

ith ju

xtap

osed

D

VD

pro

ject

ions

of h

exag

onal

ly s

hape

d co

lore

d fo

rms,

rec

orde

d on

film

, on

to e

ach

of w

hich

she

lay

ered

thre

e vi

deo

sequ

ence

s of

bee

s sw

arm

ing.

Sho

t fr

om a

var

iety

of

angl

es a

nd d

ista

nces

, th

is

vide

o fo

otag

e w

as,

in a

dditi

on,

at t

imes

slo

wed

to

vary

ing

degr

ees.

Non

ethe

less

, it

has

been

edi

ted

prim

arily

in

rela

tion

to s

pace

rat

her

than

to

time

sinc

e, in

stea

d of

a l

inea

r an

d

henc

e po

tent

ially

nar

rativ

e flo

w,

the

loop

ed f

oota

ge

inco

rpor

ates

con

stan

t flu

ctua

tion

in

dept

h, a

s it

rest

less

ly s

hifts

foc

us f

rom

clo

se-u

p to

mid

shot

to

dist

ant

pano

ram

ic v

iew

s.

The

per

ceiv

ed f

latn

ess

and

imm

edia

cy i

nher

ent

in v

ideo

as

a m

ediu

m c

ount

erpo

ints

th

e

lum

inou

s se

nsua

l co

lor

of f

ilm,

anim

ated

her

e by

the

alm

ost

impe

rcep

tible

tre

mor

inh

eren

t

to f

ilmin

g, e

nabl

ing

the

two

med

ia t

o re

info

rce

and

mut

ually

dec

onst

ruct

on

e an

othe

r.

Inte

rmitt

ently

in

terr

uptin

g th

e co

ntin

uous

flo

w o

n ea

ch p

roje

ctor

, a

num

ber

appe

ars

brie

fly.

Initi

ally

dev

ised

as

an a

ide-

mem

oire

for

dis

tingu

ishi

ng

betw

een

the

twen

ty-o

dd

disk

s

the

artis

t m

ade

whe

n pr

epar

ing

this

wor

k, t

he d

evic

e w

as r

etai

ned

in t

he f

inal

pre

­

sent

atio

n, p

artly

in h

omag

e to

Str

uctu

ralis

t fil

m,

long

for

mat

ive

on h

er th

inki

ng,

and

part

ly t

o re

info

rce

that

sta

te o

f re

flexi

ve a

war

enes

s so

fun

dam

enta

l to

her

wor

k.

Tha

ter

also

int

rodu

ced

into

the

spa

ce a

vid

eo w

all

mad

e fr

om s

tack

ed m

onito

rs,

a

scul

ptur

al e

lem

ent

desi

gned

to

rein

forc

e aw

aren

ess

of h

er i

nter

vent

ions

int

o th

e

actu

al a

rchi

tect

ure

of t

he v

enue

; th

ough

sub

ject

to

syst

emic

gra

phin

g by

the

mod

u­

lar

grid

, a

gian

t, lu

min

ous

flow

er,

the

puta

tive

sour

ce o

f th

e be

e's

fren

zied

act

ivity

,

radi

ates

fro

m t

he v

ideo

ban

k, a

n irr

esis

tible

mag

net.

By

gelli

ng t

he w

indo

ws

with

a

gray

filt

er a

nd b

athi

ng t

he w

alls

dev

oid

of f

enes

trat

ion

with

col

or r

angi

ng a

cros

s th

e

pink

, mag

enta

, an

d cr

imso

n en

d of

the

spe

ctru

m,

she

delic

atel

y bu

t in

dubi

tabl

y m

olds

the

perim

eter

of

the

site

. And

, by

onl

y m

argi

nally

tem

perin

g th

e gi

ven

light

lev

els,

she

ensu

res

that

a v

isito

r ca

nnot

fai

l to

iden

tify

and

defin

e th

e lit

eral

spa

ce, y

et c

an e

asily

slip

int

o th

ose

illus

ioni

stic

re

cess

es w

ithin

the

mes

mer

izin

g pr

ojec

tions

fro

m w

hich

­

unca

nnily

and

une

xpec

tedl

y-be

es

mom

enta

rily

emer

ge t

o cl

ambe

r al

ong

colu

mns

and

beam

s, o

r to

clu

ster

and

hov

er i

ndec

isiv

ely

arou

nd e

ach

othe

r, b

efor

e ab

rupt

ly

disa

ppea

ring,

ofte

n se

emin

gly

into

the

ver

y fa

bric

of

the

conc

rete

str

uctu

re i

tsel

f.

Pro

pelle

d irr

esis

tibly

for

war

d by

the

dram

atic

ver

tigo

of t

his

embr

acin

g sw

athe

of

anim

ated

im

ager

y, d

istr

acte

d, e

ven

disc

once

rted

, by

inse

cts

rand

omly

loo

min

g an

d

diss

olvi

ng l

ike

mon

umen

tal

spec

ters

or

spee

ding

by

in f

rene

tic

conv

oys,

the

view

er

who

mea

nder

s sp

ecul

ativ

ely

thro

ugh

this

uns

tabl

e, i

ncoh

esiv

e m

edle

y of

elu

sive

spac

es b

ecom

es i

ncre

asin

gly

cons

ciou

s of

the

im

poss

ibili

ty o

f fin

ding

any

sin

gle

vant

age

poin

t fro

m w

hich

the

cac

opho

nous

pan

oply

will

coh

ere

into

a s

eam

less

ent

ity

avai

labl

e fo

r co

mfo

rtab

le

com

preh

ensi

on

(and

con

sum

ptio

n).

Suc

ked

mom

enta

rily

from

the

fic

tive

wor

ld o

f in

ters

ectin

g sp

atio

tem

pora

l ve

ctor

s, t

he v

iew

er s

udde

nly

finds

her

self

tran

sfix

ed,

rapt

by

the

gent

ly s

way

ing

Med

usa-

like

icon

of

desi

re w

hose

begu

iling

rhy

thm

ic u

ndul

atio

ns,

whi

ch m

ay h

ave

been

cau

sed

by a

slig

ht b

reez

e,

reca

ll th

e ef

fect

s of

a f

ar-f

rom

-ste

ady

reco

rdin

g de

vice

. B

y m

eans

of

a co

nsta

nt

osci

llatio

n be

twee

n su

bjec

t an

d ob

ject

, abs

orpt

ion

and

deta

chm

en~

imm

ersi

on a

nd

dist

ance

, suf

fusi

on

and

self-

awar

enes

s, T

hate

r go

vern

s, s

hape

s, a

nd u

ltim

atel

y

tran

sfor

ms

the

spec

tato

r's

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

the

spa

ce. F

ar fr

om d

efle

ctin

g cr

itica

l

inqu

iry, t

he s

educ

tive,

allu

ring

char

acte

r of

the

exp

erie

nce

enco

urag

es a

hei

ghte

ned

cons

ciou

snes

s of

its

man

ifold

mea

ns,

intr

icat

ely

wov

en f

rom

pla

ce, c

ircum

stan

ce,

tech

niqu

e, a

nd t

echn

olog

y. A

s th

is v

ehic

le f

or r

efle

xive

ly f

oreg

roun

ding

th

e vi

ewer

's

role

rev

eals

its

elf

to b

e an

ins

tant

iatio

n of

the

ver

y th

emat

ic

of K

nots

+ S

urfa

ces,

Tha

ter's

abi

ding

pre

occu

patio

n-"T

he

cont

ent

of m

y w

ork

is a

mod

el o

f w

hat

I wan

t

the

form

to

be'-i

s el

oque

ntly

rea

lized

. Onc

e ag

ain,

"The

que

stio

n ...

is

, 'W

hat w

orld

do

I inh

abit?

"'

L. C

.