Table Of ContentLee Boroson:
Underpass
Lee Boroson: Underpass
October29,1999-March17,2000
WhitneyMuseum ofAmericanArtat Philip Morris
TheWhitneyMuseum ofAmericanArt at Philip Morris
is fundedbyPhilip MorrisCompanies Inc.
Thisbrochureaccompaniestheexhibition
"Lee Boroson: Underpass"organizedby Debra Singer,branch
curator,WhitneyMuseum ofAmericanArtat Philip Morris.
All photographs,unlessotherwise indicated:
LeeBoroson. Underpass,1999 (installation view)
Page2 (bottom): Lee Boroson. Underpass,1999 (installation detail)
© 2000WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt
945 MadisonAvenueat75th Street
NewYork,NY 10021
www.whitney.org
Surface Tension
Hoveringoverhead, across the expansive span ofthe Philip
Morris Sculpture Court, are the flowing curves and forceful
lines ofLee Boroson's luminous fabric sculpture, Underpass.
The piece, despite its immense size,appears surprisinglyairy
and light,as its overlappinghorizontal planes ofblue and
white counterthe toweringverticalityofthe 42-foot-high
surroundingwalls. Created from a translucent, silkymaterial
generallyusedto make parachutes, the sculpture takes advan-
tage ofthelarge glasswindows on all sides and diffuses light
in dramaticways. How, and towhat extent,thepiece refracts
the artificial and natural light depends on the time ofday
and on shifts in theweather. Bytemporarilychanging the
configurations ofthe architecture and reflecting colorand
light, Underpasstransforms the atmosphere ofthis unusual
atrium-like settingand alters ourphysical perceptions of
beingin,and movingthrough,the Sculpture Court.
Gazingupward at Underpass,you might imagine that the
outdoorshas movedin andthatyou standbeneath askyor
a running river. Thework's organic feel is enhancedbyair
currents,originatingfrom a fan embedded in thebuilding's
crawlspace,whichpulse through the piece, causing itto billow
and sway, as ifitwere aliving,breathingcreature.As the title
suggests,however,the sculpture's form relates to more than
naturalphenomena. The structure is also associatedwith
highwaydesign,specificallyacloverleaftraffic exchangepattern.
In thistype ofroadsystem (and in the sculpture itself),four
individual circles loop around a central straightthrust,
creating alinearscheme that resembles afour-leafclover.
World'sFirstCloverleafInterchangenearWoodbridge,NJ, Builtin192S.
NewJerseyDepartmentofTransportation,Trenton
In its practical application, this arrangement allows for
efficient change ofdirection and speed as cars enterorexit
the highway. In this museum context,however,the pattern
mirrorsvarious properties unique to the Sculpture Court.
The form echoes theviews onto the bustling intersection
of42nd Street and ParkAvenue,which reveal two levels of
cartraffic on the street and elevatedbridge. It also resonates
with the unusual diagonal path ofpedestrians as theywalk
across the space from one entrance to another.
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Underpassequallytakes into account the function ofthe
buildingto which the Sculpture Court is attached.While
—
the Sculpture Court is essentiallya leisure space an urban
garden where people stop to enjoya cup ofcoffee or eat
—
lunch the rest ofthebuilding is a workplace, namely,
the international corporateheadquarters ofPhilip Morris
Companies. To Boroson,the cloverleafroad design is also an
appropriate metaphor forthekindofstreamlined transferof
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—
information and flowofcommunication that are fundamental
to runningaproductivebusiness.
Such directed"transfers"and"flows"ofpeople, cars,or
dataalludetowhat Boroson refersto as"navigation systems"
structural arrangements designed to guide ourmovements
andconsequentlyaffecthowwecomprehendoursurroundings.
Such systemsaremimickedwithinthepieceitself: air,propelled
byan energysource, is routed through quilted channels,
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promptingexchangesbetween energyand matterthat result
in noticeable fluctuations ofthe sculpture's form.
Boroson's interest in"navigation systems"ledhim to study
notonlyhighwayplanningand roaddesignbut also traditional
French,Dutch, and German formal gardens. Despite their
opposingpurposes,both utilitarian road plans and traditional
recreational gardens sharemanyformalcharacteristics. Boroson
explains,"Although conceptuallyyou maynot thinkhighway
and garden layouts have much in common,when you lookat
photographs and diagrams ofaerial perspectives,theypossess
manysimilargeometries."1 Many formal gardens are designed,
forexample, against abasic grid scheme that then allows for
the orderlydevelopment ofintersections and pathways.As a
result, schematic maps ofroads and gardens can sometimes
look remarkablyalike.
Boroson's analogous applications ofsuch layouts to his
workbecome apparent bycomparing Underpassto Pleasure
Grounds(1999). In this latter installation,a gridlikearrangement
ofhanging,green-and-white,circular, pneumatic forms skim
the surface ofthe floor. Unlike the experience ofwalking
through an actual garden,whereyou are in the thickofthings,
thisworkplaces theviewer in the position oflookingdown on
an artificial garden and surveyingthe entire plan at a glance.
An imaginaryworld is invoked here, not only through the
privilege ofan aerial perspective,but also through Boroson's
deceptive use ofscale. On the one hand,each ofthe dangling
units suggests an outsized floweror floatinglily pad. On the
other, each component can also be interpreted as a condensed
groupingof"vegetation,"implyingthat an entiregarden has
nowshrunkto Lilliputian proportions. The elements are
simultaneouslytoo bigand too tinyto be reconciled with any
notions ofreality.
Underpasssimilarlymanipulates vantage and scale.As
viewers,we are placed in the fantastical position ofstanding
underneath an unsupportedexpressway,an indoorsky,orthe
water's surface. Thesevarious imaginaryassociations draw
attention to the relativityofscale. Despite its impressive
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