Five centuries prior to the birth of Christ, Greek cosmological thinkers were already aware of a fundamental truth: the world is not as it appears to be. They were the pioneers of demythologizing the world, breaking down the complexity of its phenomena to archè (the Greek word for ‘beginning’). By starting with a list of elemental building blocks and primal forces like love-hate, they opened up endless possibilities. Today, after two and a half millennia, this field is far from being fully explored, but occasionally humanity proves itself remarkably fresh and creative in thought.
In 1975, American philosopher Paul Feyerabend shook the intellectual world with his book Against Method. Despite initial ridicule, it exploded like a bombshell, challenging the established scientific method. Feyerabend asserted that if eight out of every ten rockets to the moon failed, it’s worth questioning what scientific methods were being used. He concluded that, in this case, ‘Anything goes!’ – any method can be utilized in order to achieve practical scientific progress.
Voebe de Gruyter approaches her artwork in a similarly anarchic manner. For her, epistemological questions serve as a means, not an end in themselves. As a visual artist, she effortlessly incorporates scientific knowledge into her thinking, picking and choosing what serves her purpose. Her work ‘Knowing water’ consists of seven drawings depicting water droplets storing reflections on a molecular level. As the water evaporates, the images fragment, only to reappear in rainclouds, swimming pools, dishwater, sweat, or a cup of tea. In ‘Mist Walks’ (1996), visitors can sign up for a guided stroll through the mist, where the artist reveals what she sees hidden behind the fog.
For Voebe de Gruyter, the pursuit of truth is not the main concern. She strives to make the vitality of observation visible, both through language and images.
www.ftn-books.com has the THE CABLE THEORY publication of de Gruyter now available.
