Inside Out by Pharrell Williams

With La Biennale set to open this week in Venice we take a closer look into the latest art project from multifaceted creative Pharrell Williams. Titled Inside Out, this new sculpture was produced for the GLASSTRESS show, located at the Berengo Centre for Contemporary Art and Glass in Murano. The piece consists of two angel skeletons, one a bit over 6’ tall and the smaller one measuring in at 18”. Both were created using classic glassblowing techniques by Murano-based studio Berengo. Offered below is some insight into the project from Pharrell Williams.

So many of us often wonder what if…

Most of these wonders have to do with the idea of what people’s lives would be like if they made different choices. Since I was a little boy my wonderous curiosities were based on fictional things that television offered. My mind was crammed pack with creatures fit for a child that were often funny, designed for youth and usually a profitable franchise like cartoons. Even still, I couldn’t stop thinking about angels.

Seemingly human with wings.

The perfect representation for man’s sojourn in this dimension.

A way to conceptualize his aspirations and goals.

The moment his feet left the ground all who watched considered him on his way…but to where?

Maybe the why of it is something that each of us must discover alone. The why we aspire for higher. Perhaps my good friend Dr. Ramachadrian, from the University of California, San Diego, has the most simple explanation: “Apes reach for fruit while man reaches for the stars.” But then again, everyone races to answer that question which is why I wanted to take on the more difficult challenge: how?

When discussing it with my colleagues they reacted as they often do—with a wordless brow lift and subsequent whispers that I was “taking it too far this time.” Like no concept in existence is crazier and alien than mine. It’s as if I’m addicted to them sucking the life and air out of my curiosity, but never my enthusiasm. That cannot be touched. How could it? Thoughts are fourth dimensional just like the unit of awareness known as self or spirit. It’s all akashic substance disseminated among the ether.

By definition ether means the upper regions of space, the clear sky, the heavens. Funny enough, because of its super thin consistency and transparency, the ether is thought by most to be non- existent. Hahaaa…that which is the truest in form is transparent. We as a society live by that metaphor, but quite often we limit our truths to semantics instead of allowing these ideas to be applied to nature. That is where I find my peace, my mind, my air. Uninterrupted air. It feeds nearly everything with the exception of plant life. It’s typically an unappreciated sign of life. That’s actually the case with all things, including ideas. All good ideas need air. Some sort of openness to what is possible. All great and egregious concepts start with the openness of air.

And then it dawned on me…

That’s it.

I’ll take a subject that I’ve often pondered about in various ways since I was a child.

I would focus on the “how” by bringing it to fruition.

It had to be clear and transparent.

It had to have a physical representation of man involuting his “openness” or “air” to the possibility.

Literally.

We met the people from Venice Projects who operate one of the finest glass blowing shops in Murano and also did the Glasstress show during the 54th Venice Biennale. It was important for it to represent what the inside body of an angel (Greek for the word “messenger”) looked like. The blowers captured exactly how I saw these angels in my mind. I am beyond pleased and impressed with the results.

All I wanted to do was present an idea that was clear, transparent and with the posterity that only the breath of man could offer.

Source: BBC Blog