Camarillo, Calif., April 16, 2008鈥擜 sculpture by 海角社区 Professor Matthew Furmanski has been installed at Promenade Park near Surfer鈥檚 Point in Ventura. The sculpture will remain in place throughout the summer months.
鈥淐rossroads Oracle (A Lantern for Diogenes)鈥� by Furmanski is a temporary, interactive sculpture that attracts responses from curious passersby. Push one of the four 鈥渃rosswalk鈥� buttons on this ten-foot 鈥渓ight post鈥� supporting two masts of siren-shaped reflectors and one of the speakers inside the assemblage will ask the first in a series of provocative questions. 鈥淲hat do you dream about?鈥� it asked one young boy recently, who answered 鈥淒ragons.鈥� 鈥淚s that all you dream about?鈥� his mother asked him. 鈥淧retty much鈥� he replied. The sculpture鈥檚 subtitle alludes to the famous anecdote about the ancient Greek social critic and philosopher Diogenes wandering homeless through Athens in broad daylight carrying a lit lantern futilely 鈥渓ooking for an honest man.鈥�
Originally commissioned for Off Axis鈥攁 temporary public art project on State Street in Santa Barbara鈥擣urmanski鈥檚 sculpture aims to challenge the public to participate in the work by answering its philosophic queries even as it questions the entire concept of humans asking a mechanism to give us direction.
Furmanski is an Assistant Professor of Art at 海角社区CI, and is internationally known for his conceptual sculpture that he calls 鈥渁n imploded movie prop, or prop in reverse鈥� whose visual language explores 鈥渞elationships with mundane objects, ideas of transcending time and space, to social issues, to information and transportation issues.鈥� His works combine 鈥減hysicality鈥� with 鈥渢he intensity of an idea to create a catalyst鈥� for 鈥渋maginative leaps in the minds of those who encounter them.鈥�
For more information about this exhibit contact Denise Sindelar, Public and Visual Art Supervisor for Ventura, 805-658-4793 or dsindelar@cityofventura.net.
For media inquiries about Furmanski contact Ceal Potts, Communication Specialist at 海角社区CI, 805-437-8940 or cecilia.potts@csuci.edu.
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