Making the World Many 1997

Curator: Anish Kapoor's sculpture, "Making the World Many," created in 1997, greets us today. What are your immediate thoughts? Editor: The shimmering, almost liquid quality of the metal is quite arresting. It gives the impression of something grown rather than constructed, like a metallic coral reef. Curator: Indeed. Kapoor’s choice of metal is central here. The reflective surface plays with light and distorts our perception, bending the architecture around it and complicating the viewing experience. It refuses a singular point of view, instead dissolving forms and multiplying perspective. Editor: The material speaks volumes about production too. The high polish, the manipulated forms – it screams industry and labor. Is it mass-produced, mimicking a naturally forming structure? How does Kapoor merge organic shapes with industrial processes? It poses interesting questions about consumption. Curator: From a formalist angle, the piece creates a dynamic tension. We observe repetition of spherical modules and the way that the individual parts aggregate into the larger abstract mass. Its exterior appears to flow; is it solid or a collection of fluid components? The play between the micro and macro elements is conceptually profound. Editor: That tension you mention is what draws me to it from a materialist perspective, it almost hides the hand of the worker through the hyper-reflective surface, whilst undeniably being meticulously manufactured. It highlights both artistry and industrial processes, blurring high art and craft. I wonder what Kapoor aims to express with it, and whether he seeks to elevate manufacturing processes, or bring down "art" into a manufacturing-ready commodity? Curator: Ultimately, Kapoor masterfully wields material and shape, inviting viewers to actively engage and discover meaning, one reflective orb at a time. Editor: The interplay of natural forms and mass production certainly compels me to think about our manufactured landscapes in a new light, beyond pure formalism.