Methods

Wonder

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A feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar.
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To use wonder as a method to subvert one’s expectations means: to evoke a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar.

The project examples that use wonder are often set in a natural environment. Most examples fall under the type Land Art; this is art that is made directly in the landscape, sculpting the land itself into earthworks or making structures in the landscape using natural materials such as rocks or twigs. While the projects offer you a view on something that seems ordinary, they make you aware of the passing of time and show the beauty within. “The best of land art makes it impossible to forget where you are and sets in to relief your surroundings with a clarity that jolts you out of the one thing after anotherness of everyday life” A good example is the ‘Sun tunnels’ project of Nancy Holt, where she placed four sewer tubes on an open desolate terrain. The installation interacts with the sun and the stars, giving you an different experience and view every time you visit. Or the projects make use of natural elements, as water, air, wind or light.

Projects that evoke wonder also often use a dynamic element; certain parts move or can be moved, in a mesmerising or hypnotising way. For example ‘Poppy’ by Zoro Feigl, a giant red canvas that rotates in the air, opening up and closing while projecting a strange un-identifiable sound. This sight is so remarkable that you stand still in amazement.

Other ways to evoke wonder is to show something that seems impossible. For example done in the ‘Monolith’ installation of Zoro Feigl; an upwards flowing waterfall. As water normally falls downwards, you are uncertain about what is happing. This is so unfamiliar you have to stop and look at it. Like in confusion, you don’t fully grasp what is happening – but with wonder this doesn’t lead to a feeling of frustration but to a feeling of awe.

Often the projects make use of a grand size or large repetition to impress people, as is done in the memorial for the Holocaust in Berlin or the monument for 9/11 in New York.