: museum of nothing sketch proposal for niels bohr building. museum of nothing

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1 museum of nothing 1

2 introduction to benandsebastian We are interested in how meaning is embedded in spaces and objects in conditions of absence BEN CLEMENT (1981, Oxford) AND SEBASTIAN DE LA COUR (1980, Copenhagen) The work of the collaborative artist practice, benandsebastian, teeters on a cusp between designed physicality and intangible theories of the mind. Trained in architecture and theoretically versed, their sculptures take on elaborate mechanics and boast intricate detailing, yet speak to vast philosophical and sociological systems. It is impossible to concretely anchor their work, an elusiveness made evident in their recent exhibition at the Designmuseum Danmark, Phantom Limbs. CASSANDRA EDLEFSEN LASCH curator 2

3 introduction to benandsebastian Embedded directly within the permanent collection and specifically paired with unexpected inventory from Copenhagen s Medical Museum, National Museum and the attics of Designmuseum Danmark, their work becomes not only the sculptures on display, but the myriad relationships made between context and object, between body and limb. Evoking the medical sense of phantom limbs, where an amputee still feels the presence of the absent limb, benandsebastian navigate the museum context and call into question the assumed wholeness we expect, perceive and viscerally feel. CASSANDRA EDLEFSEN LASCH curator 3

4 historical context Our proposal for the Niels Bohr building takes inspiration from a particular coincidence in time and space. The years between marked a period of intense productivity, in Copenhagen, in the lives of both the physicist Niels Bohr, and the designer Kaare Klint. Group portrait from the Fifth Solvay congress in 1927, when the world s most notable physicists, including Niels Bohr, met to discuss the newly formulated Quantum Theory. 4

5 historical context Kaare Klint During these years, Kaare Klint was responsible for establishing The Danish Museum of Art & Design in the former Frederik s hospital on Bredgade. Part of Klint s work involved designing a set of vitrines for the museum, which were to become the institution s display framework. Klint designed a modular system that echoed the ward structure of the former hospital. The logic of the detailing, proportions and structure of these teak vitrines became a standardised framing device through which the museum s artefacts were displayed. These frames continue to transform the way in which we perceive, value and understand the things that are placed within them. Kunstindustrimuseet soon after the installation of Kaare Klint s vitrines in

6 : museum of nothing sketch proposal for niels bohr building historical context Niels Bohr Heisenberg: Oh those years! Those amazing years! Those three short years Bohr: From 1924 to 1927 Heisenberg: From when I arrived in Copenhagen to become your assistant Bohr: To when you departed, to take up your chair at Leipzig. Heisenberg: Three years of raw, bracing northern springtime. Bohr: At the end of which we had quantum mechanics, we had uncertainty... Heisenberg: We had complementarity... Bohr: We had the whole Copenhagen Interpretation. MICHAEL FRAYN: COPENHAGEN During these same years, Bohr was working intensely with the German physicist Werner Heisenberg. The period culminated in what later became known as The Copenhagen Interpretation. One of Bohr s assertions at the time was that the act of observation affects quantum objects. Electrons observed as waves were found to perform as waves. Whereas electrons observed as 6 particles were found to perform as particles. The idea that the acts of measurement and observation are not impersonal events that occur with impartial universality, but rather specific points of view that see differently according to their location in time and space, and the intentions of the observer, challenged the idea of a precisely determinable objective universe.

7 museum of nothing. The Museum of Nothing will be a collection of absences. 7

8 museum of nothing absences Our proposal for the Niels Bohr building looks for overlaps. On the one hand it plays with the transformative effect that occurs when an object is placed within an authoritative framework of observation. On the other, it seeks out the ambivalence that exists in objects which can be perceived and understood in several distinct ways. The museum s collection will consist of a series of containers whose contents have been lost, but whose particular form implies a very specific thing once having filled the space. However, the containers will all be too ambiguous to prescribe precisely what their lost contents were. 8

9 museum of nothing glass forms Each of the empty containers will contain a bespoke blown glass piece, which will be formed to fill the negative space of its interior 9

10 museum of nothing containers Many of the vessels making up the museum s collection will be containers for lost equipment that once played an important role in the institutions that the new Niels Bohr building will house. 10

11 museum of nothing loss of knowledge Whether forgotten, redundant, discarded or broken, the loss of the object itself (and the survival of its container), combined with the loss of knowledge of what it was, will be a condition for collection. As a result, the Museum of Nothing will allow room for projection. Its series of spaces will be filled variously, and differently, by the imagination of its visitors. 11

12 museum of nothing perspective 12 Perspective view of Museum of Nothing at kunstspot 1d. Museum of Nothing will consist of: Two in-built and wallmounted vitrines with safety glass, containing a collection of transport cases and clear glass forms. One freestanding vitrine with a large transport case and large bespoke glass form.

13 : museum of nothing sketch proposal for niels bohr building museum of nothing plan a b a Plan drawing of Museum of Nothing at kunstspot 1d a: wall-mounted vitrines b: freestanding vitrine 13

14 museum of nothing elevation 335cm 30cm 235cm 30cm Elevation of south interior wall at kunstspot 1d 14

15 : museum of nothing sketch proposal for niels bohr building museum of nothing plan m 335c 30cm 80cm Plan of south interior wall at kunstspot 1d 15

16 museum of nothing elevation 30cm 235cm 30cm 67cm 40cm 30cm 200cm Elevation of east interior wall at kunstspot 1d 16

17 : museum of nothing sketch proposal for niels bohr building museum of nothing plan 50cm 30cm Plan of east interior wall at kunstspot 1d 17

18 museum of nothing freestanding vitrine 18 Drawings of freestanding vitrine with transport case at kunstspot 1d

19 museum of nothing freestanding vitrine 19 Example of larger transport case to stand in freestanding vitrine at kunstspot 1d

20 details wall-mounted vitrines plan view The recessed area within the wall is framed and lined with teak ply. perspective view The teak frame extends 30cm out from the wall. elevation view Detailing of teak vitrine frame joinery. 20

21 details freestanding vitrine 21

22 : museum of nothing sketch proposal for niels bohr building escape routes plan 22

23 lighting 23 Example of interior lighting of vitrines, using fiberoptic system from Roblon

24 signage 24 Proposal for integrated signage for Museum of Nothing within the general signage of the Niels Bohr building

25 building related consequences a) plaster partitition walls Plaster partition walls to be prepared to support the load of the wall-mounted vitrines, and constructed with extra depth and appropriate apertures in order to accommodate them. These walls will also include acoustic a minimum of 4m2 of acoustic panelling. b) electrical Wall-mounted vitrines are to be lit internally and need to be cabled accordingly. The freestanding vitrine (standing on the floor) is to be lit from below. Electricity will be cabled from below through the floor. c) signage Signs pointing to the Museum of Nothing will be integrated into the building s general signage system. 25

26 operation a) energy Electricity will be required for lighting. b) cleaning and maintenance Vitrines will require cleaning externally (weekly dusting). Vitrines will require occasional cleaning internally and will require infrequent oiling using linseed oil (approximately every other year). c) technical Occasional replacement of elements of the vitrine lighting system (bulbs). 26

27 budget a) Materials vitrines: teak wood, glass and other materials + production costs DKK objects: transport containers DKK signage: materials + production costs DKK glass forms: material + production costs DKK b) Consultations and stipends consultation with CCO (during sketch phase) DKK 0 consultation with CCO (after sketch phase) DKK consultation with electrical engineer (after sketch phase) DKK artists stipend for sketch phase DKK artists stipend thereafter DKK c) Changes/additions to building construction process alterations to internal partition walls DKK cabling of lighting system DKK d) Costs relating to final installation CCO s fees DKK electrical engineer s fees DKK construction workers fees DKK e) Transport costs DKK f) Unexpected expenses (15%) DKK TOTAL DKK

28 forbehold 1. Der tages på nuværende tidspunkt forbehold for at transportkasserne og glasindsatserne som er beskrevet i skitseforslaget ikke er de faktiske kasser og indsatser som kommer til at indgå i den endelige aflevering. 2. Der tages forbehold for at de endelige dimensioner på vægmontrerne kan afvige fra tegningsmaterialet, da de muligvis skal være mindre. 3. Det tilstræbes at den fritstående montre samt indhold indgår som beskrevet, men der tages forbehold for at den ikke kommer til at indgå i den endelige aflevering. 28