Prototype for a series of room-specific illuminated vitrines commissioned by the new owners of the Chelsea Hotel to commemorate former residents and the works they created there. This piece pays tribute to science fiction author, futurist and inventor Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey with director Stanley Kubrick in room 1008 in 1964-65.
Clarke’s 1952 book, The Exploration of Space, convinced President John F. Kennedy to pursue an aggressive space program, and his many inventions—from geo-stationary satellite communication, in 1945, to the concept of a “global library” half a century before Google—had a profound effect on the course of the 20th century.
Each case contains a mixture of real and fabricated artifacts from the artist’s collection.
Case: Custom wood, wax finish, brass strips and hardware, Lexan, 12W leds, fabric cord, vintage plug, and Bakelite switch.
Contents: Oriental carpet, Super-8 camera, early ‘60s paperbacks, German WWII gas mask, agate quartz geode, French rolling papers, Univac publicity photo, bronzed Bakelite spaceman action figure, ping-pong ball, 1958 Atomium postcard
16 ¼ x 13 ¼ x 3 ¾ inches