But if you’re small, it’s overwhelming.
In the Miami Beach Convention Center, at Art Basel Miami 2021, I stared down at a square white coffee table. Covering its top was a large smear of red sand, arrayed in a spiral. It appeared tracked, as though someone’s fingertips pushed it across the surface. Although it was pleasant to look at, it didn’t seem particularly creative or intriguing, compared to the mass of exciting art displayed throughout the cavernous building.
However, I was walking the floor with a knowledgeable guide who encouraged us to squat down and look across the circle at eye level.
Everything changed. At the edge of the sand, I saw a tiny figure of a woman pushing a broom. At her scale, the expanse of sand and the suggestion of the work spread before her was overwhelming. She had days of work ahead of her. What tedious and discouraging toil.
How you see artist Liliana Porter's spiral varies depending on whether you're big or small. Rushing or patient. Know-it-all or open-minded.
