Little Sun 2012

Olafur Eliasson made this 'Little Sun' with plastic and LED technology. It's sunny, and like a sunflower or a daisy. The solid yellow plastic evokes a simple, childlike joy, and the way the petals repeat makes me think about process; one element duplicated until it forms a whole. This little sun is a solid object, and it looks like it’s made from a mold. Everything about it is smooth, without texture; a contrast to the natural world the form references. This is part of its charm, and the light coming from the center, warm but artificial, creates a strange emotional resonance. Like a toy, it seems as though it could be held in the hand. I think of Sophie Taeuber-Arp when I see this, the way that she also embraced simplicity in form, and the tension between the man-made and the organic. Art is a constant conversation, and it never has to be the last word.