Shusaku Arakawa

The Mechanism of Meaning(No.2)8. Reassembling

c.1963-1988

Reassembling is not simply a matter of replacing or altering individual elements, but of reconsidering the relationships and rules that connect them. In this work, the simple formula “A + B = C” is repeatedly modified through changes in color, form, and the presence or absence of symbols. Yet no matter how much A, B, and C are altered, we continue to interpret the structure as a relationship in which A and B produce C.
The work suggests that meaning does not reside within individual elements themselves, but emerges from the relationships that connect them. It suggests that if we wish to fundamentally change meaning, it is not enough to modify the elements alone; we must also question the conventions and structures that bind them together.

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Artist

Shusaku Arakawa

Date

c.1963-1988

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimentions

244.0×173.0cm

Accesion Number

AS-005-38~45

© 2016 Reversible Destiny Foundation. Reproduced with permission of the Reversible Destiny Foundation

Shusaku Arakawa

Artist

Shusaku Arakawa

Date

c.1963-1988

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimentions

244.0×173.0cm

Accesion Number

AS-005-38~45

© 2016 Reversible Destiny Foundation. Reproduced with permission of the Reversible Destiny Foundation