Limit Bridge III
Artist
Siah Armajani
(American, born Iran, 1939 - 2020)
Date1973-1978
MediumBalsa wood
DimensionsOverall: 20 x 72 1/2 x 15 inches (50.8 x 184.15 x 38.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Dick and Jane Hollander
Object numberF98-26
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionLong horizontal wooden construction in the form of a bridge with steps descending from both ends toward the center. A vertical wooden wall located at center blocks passage across bridge. The lower section has a solid face; the upper section is openwork. The top plane of the bridge is slightly stepped.Gallery LabelSiah Armajani's Limit Bridge III draws upon the nineteenth century, wooden bridge tradition in America. It's use of simple forms-trusses and trestles-are based on utilitarian carpentry techniques. Bridges are literal and symbolic connectors. They span impasses and represent the human desire to come together. Yet, even if constructed at full scale, this bridge is flawed. A wall blocks passage precisely at the juncture of the two, disparate spans. By disrupting its function, Armajani invites us to consider the bridge as both abstract idea and useful form. Standing at the wall, we would suddenly understand the symbolic meaning of "bridge."
With
Max Protech Gallery, New York;
Richard M. Hollander;
Richard A. Hollander;
His gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1998.
Janet Kardon, Siah Armajani: Bridges, Houses, Communal Spaces, Dictionary for Building (Philadelphia: Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 1985), 13, (repro.).
Copyright© Estate of Siah Armajani / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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