27 x 6.5 Feet
Spread 1998
Post Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Site-specific elevator installation
Spread, Paul Henry Ramirez’ ambitious installation in Post’s elevator shaft, entails a 27’ by 80" paper drawing (with dozens of red and blue semi-spherical Plexiglas attachments) spread across the shaft’s back wall. A rather suspenseful drawing that’s rich with abstracted interpretations of substance-spouting orifices, Spread investigates the arousal of tensions caused by the merger of myriad physical states. En masse, light materials float gleefully, fluids squirt haphazardly, filaments fribilate, buoyant waterfalls bounce, while heavier materials succumb to gravity’s will. While it could easily be viewed as a fanciful illustration of the body’s digestive and reproductive systems, Spread also serves as a clever portrayal of polymorphous sexuality, the stage when gender inspecificity enables the child to entertain the widest range of perception without the burden of memory. Guest curator Sue Spaid
Post Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Site-specific elevator installation
Spread, Paul Henry Ramirez’ ambitious installation in Post’s elevator shaft, entails a 27’ by 80" paper drawing (with dozens of red and blue semi-spherical Plexiglas attachments) spread across the shaft’s back wall. A rather suspenseful drawing that’s rich with abstracted interpretations of substance-spouting orifices, Spread investigates the arousal of tensions caused by the merger of myriad physical states. En masse, light materials float gleefully, fluids squirt haphazardly, filaments fribilate, buoyant waterfalls bounce, while heavier materials succumb to gravity’s will. While it could easily be viewed as a fanciful illustration of the body’s digestive and reproductive systems, Spread also serves as a clever portrayal of polymorphous sexuality, the stage when gender inspecificity enables the child to entertain the widest range of perception without the burden of memory. Guest curator Sue Spaid