Amos Roger

The Changing Pyramid Structure Experiments – Toward a Materialist Turn in Contemporary Artworks

How can I create a physical changeable form to present art today? Through this question I want to find out in my theoretical research, which is linked to my practical artistic research, how can I influence the viewers in the presented space?

Critical Image Practices (CIP)
I am grateful and honored to have had the opportunity to learn and work with – and to be influenced and supported by – my mentor Prof. Dr. Sabine Gebhardt Fink, in writing and researching this Master Thesis. Thank you for your critical, open thoughts and ideas, along with your understanding of my changing pyramid concept for experiments. I also want to thank my other mentors, Prof. Maria Josefa Lichtsteiner and Réne Gisler, for their critical thoughts and dialog, as well as for supporting and understanding my changing pyramid method concept. I would like to thank my beloved mother Ruth Pia – may she rest in peace – for her endless support in educating me together with the support of my father. I would like to thank all those who have supported me in this journey of writing my Master Thesis. A special thank you goes out to Patric Fasel for his support – and for always being there and listening. I also want to thank the heads of my Major Critical Image Practices courses, Monica Studer and Christoph van den Berg, for helping me develop my changing concept. I thank Rashmi Sathe and Irina Biadici for thier ideas and assistance in developing our graduation catalogue. Thank you, Christian Fischer, and Lene Carl for the great teamwork and assistance in the mediation group. Thank you, Nicole Heri, for accompanying, assisting and organizing our graduation exhibition 2021 in Neubad Lucerne.

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Inspired by the first pyramid at Sqqara, I have created, as a notion of artwork, a physically changeable empty wooden frame (Fig. 4 and 7). This modular installation form is made up of 25 non-identical sized wood frames. It may function as – and can be observed – as a formalistic shape, or as an object by itself. Yet, at the same time, it also refers to a system structure, which is capable of carrying other related art mediums and/or objects on top of or inside it (Mumfords 1967, Casson 1971, pierre udan 2006).

My Master thesis research can be understood as one structure, divided into three parts that complete each other. The first is my theoretical research; the second is an artistic practice, based on reflective methodology and the last combines these research layers into a single pyramid structure. In my study, I use two research methods. The first method explores the creation of new ways to experience artwork from different viewpoints, via my changing pyramid structure experiment. The second method is that of expert interviews. I have interviewed two artists, Maria Josefa Lichtsteiner and Klodin Erb, regarding their working experience as assistants for Sol LeWitt. I likewise interviewed the art historian and curator Dr. Josef Helfenstein, director at the Basel Kunstmuseum – who curated the Sam Gilliam exhibition The Music of Color 1967 — 1973 at the museum in 2018 – and the art historian and art critic Prof. Dr. Sabeth Buchmann, author of Denken gegen das Denken. (Buchmann 2007, P. Binstock and Helfenstein 2018).

In Experiment number four, e.g., I decided to place my paintings atop the floors of the pyramid (Figs. 21, 30 and 34). By hanging the four paintings at curved angles on the steps of the pyramid, I created a new display. (Richter and Bianchi 2007, Fried 1998, O’Doherty 1976, Krauss 1986).

Finally, I think art has the quality of investigating new forms and challenging the spectator’s experiences.