Review

"Book 2" (detail), Fabricated and Painted Steel.

Asheer Akram
Book 2

12 a.m.-11-59 p.m.

Art in R Park
Roe Blvd. at Johnson Dr. (Northwest corner.)
Roeland Park, KS

Hours: 24 hours, seven days.
Runs through: March 31.

Artist's site: http://www.asheerakram.com
Art in R Park site: http://www.roelandpark.net/art-in-r-park.html

At first look, and first read, there is much to link Asheer Akram's Book 2 to its Art in R Park predecessor, Book and Scroll.

Both are layered, open metal sculptures, right-angle strong and airily delicate at the same time. Both are based on Islamic calligraphy, specifically an ornament Akram came across while viewing the Aga Khan Collection in the Louvre.

Even the respective artist's statements contain the same key phrases:

... a formal study of mark making ...

... trying to capture the spontaneity of ink on paper in a solidified format ...

... the forms of these final objects and what they convey rather than the discernible language.

So does that make Book 2, a detail view of which is pictured above, a sort of Book and Scroll 2.0?

Not at all. While the similarities are apparent, there are also significant differences.

One is in the physical arrangement of Book 2. The newer piece, which is on display in the open field at Johnson Drive and Roe through the end of March, is oriented differently: point upward, rather than the perpendicular/parallel-to-the-ground structure of the previous work.

Color and brightness also play major roles in distinguishing one piece from the other.

Book and Scroll was allowed to fully interact with weather conditions, the resulting oxidation giving it the appearance of venerable age. Book 2, by contrast, is not merely bright, but bold. Its coat of red paint lends the piece an air of urgency.

Does the calligraphy contain some encoded proclamation? A prophetic warning? A call to action?

The artist isn't saying. As with the previous edition of his privately conceived, publicly released revelation, it falls to each viewer to interpret the signs — and symbols — of Akram's times.

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