Tempered Magazine December 2013 // January 2014 // Issue 01 | Page 16

SIAH ARMAJANI ‘63

Fallujah
Glass Bridge
Tomb for Walt Whitman
House Above the Bridge (model)
Gazebo for Four Anarchists: Mary Nardini,
Irma Sanchini, William James Sidis and
Carlo Valdinocci
About Siah and his Work
Exerpts provided by Richard Holledge
Siah is acclaimed for the original thinking he brings to public art, operating
at a point where the methods of the artist and the architect coalesce. In his
50-year career, he has done much to change the way we think about public
art, or rather, art in public spaces.
At the core of his work is the issue of democracy when art is open to people
and the audience creates the sculpture. “In the 1980s when we talked to
neighbourhoods and social workers, most of them were people who had
never gone to museums and were not educated in the formal aspect of art,
we had to make one thing very clear: that we needed them to articulate their
needs, not their tastes,” explains Armajani. “We were reacting to the people
around us, not saying this is what we, the artists, want.”

An Ingenious World, a retrospective for Siah Armajani’s work, was recently
displayed at Parasol Unit in London. The images featured here provide
a glimpse into Siah’s illustrious career and comprise works from 1957 to
present day. Images and content are courtesy of the artist and Canvas
Magazine.
Armajani has been the subject of over fifty solo exhibitions since 1978;
including surveys and retrospectives at Parasol unit, London (2013); Nelson
Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (2008); Musee d’art Moderne et
Contemporarin, Geneva, Switzerland (2007, tour); Museo Nacional Centro
de Arte Raina Sofia, Madrid (1999, tour); and Vila Arson, Nice, France
(1994).
Siah Armajani is represented by Alexander Gray Gallery New York.
Siah’s work is featured in a permanent collection at the Walker Art Center
in Minneapolis, MN. To see more, visit
http://www.walkerart.org/collections/artists/siah-armajani

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