Psychogeography and the LSG
The synergy of persons, places, and things at the Long-Sharp Gallery
I recently came across the term “psychogeography”, and the word has burrowed itself into my brain. Psychogeography describes how human emotions and behavior change in relationship to their environment. As any traveler knows, a change of scenery can often also change one’s mind. Most of life’s ills can be cured with a week in New Orleans, or a month in the south of Spain. But what is it about a place that can have such a resonant effect with the human psyche?
Another word I have been chewing on is “synergy”. Synergy is what happens when the combination of two elements (people, ideas, or chemicals for example) yields a greater result than the total effect of the two elements individually. This is a spectacular phenomenon, one that almost seems to defy the laws of physics. When two things, or people, or ideas, come together to create something revolutionary, something greater than themselves… That is a special kind of magic.
And so I begin to wonder what happens when we take these two words, psychogeography and synergy, and put them together into a single idea. A particular person finds themself in a particular place, and because of that precise moment the world is forever changed. Synergistic psychogeography - when a person and a place are transformed together.
I have been searching for something that would spark a change in me. Touring the different galleries and artist co-ops around Indianapolis, I’ve found beautiful, creative, and innovative works of art that delight the senses and play with new perspectives. But I had yet to find something that rattled me to my core - something that ignited a synergetic response. That is, until I walked through the doors of the Long-Sharp Gallery tucked beneath the Conrad Hotel in downtown Indianapolis the other day.
Clean and simple, the gallery itself is the blankest of blank canvases, a perfect backdrop for the sculptures by UK-born artist Patrick Hurst. One of the recent shows at LSG, metaphysical musings meet innovative tech to create visually penetrative artworks that confront the viewer with themselves in the most direct and conversational way. This is the magic of Patrick Hurst. Engineering danced with fine art in a way that brought Euclidean geometry into a multidimensional experience. Drawing on fundamental mathematical concepts, as well as cutting-edge theoretical physics (referencing, for example, this author’s 2nd-favorite scientist Carlo Rovelli), Patrick unites the deeply rational with the ephemeral subjective using sleek lines and mirrored surfaces. That specific moment, in that specific gallery, made me feel like a part of an artistic revolution.
Psychogeography describes the powerful synergy between individuals and the spaces they inhabit. Certain moments, certain spaces can be catalysts for new ways of thinking about the world, electrifying and invigorating and creating momentum for revolutionary change. The work of Patrick Hurst was exactly what I needed to begin my own transformation. A fire has been lit, and it’s only a matter of time until we will see what will become of it.
Visit the Long-Sharp Gallery’s website here
Or call 866.370.1601 to schedule a visitation.
View the work of Patrick Hurst here
Or on his Instagram @pathurst
Photo credit: Long-Sharp Gallery