The Center for Ongoing Research & Projects

Ed Steck

sleep as information/the fountain is a water feature

April 19th - May 18th, 2014

  • Sleep as Information
An archive of a slipped passage: the cross-section of memory and object –
constructs of sensation – an abridged fix – the error of programmable feat.
Research into how a chili cheese dog tastes after its site has been erased: the
associative non-taste tipped and lingered in the spaces of an absent taxonomy.
A water fountain’s plume erupts from a ceramic-tiled basin on the first floor level
of a shopping mall, ascending, topping the balcony on the second floor.
A reproduction of memory categorized by disconnect is defined in generation
loss – an interface of gradual deletion purports indications of true replication.
The fountain is a water feature installed in a public space to create a landmark –
a central spectacle, a labyrinth’s gravity – that is an easily remembered site.
A broad textural schematic for absent memory: it’s the reproduction of felt
areas, appearing in the aura of mediums – it’s the soft-focus feel of a replica.

The Center for Ongoing Research & Projects is pleased to present Ed Steck’s sleep as information/the fountain is a water feature. This project takes two forms: a physical exhibition in the COR&P gallery and a three-part publication. The exhibition consists of an installation of a series of screenprints and several artist books that implement the texture of memory loss through the repetition of reproduction – cycling the space of absent memory through different phases of duplication.

The three-part publication includes a limited edition book published by COR&P. In its printed form, sleep as information/the fountain is a water feature is a book-length poem confronting the nebulous associations of fragmented memory: a pseudo-taxonomical investigation with plywood-like consistency, an expository web of mall food court fare, anti-memories of a large indoor water fountain, and cheap paperback science fiction novels. The book is accompanied by a newsprint broadsheet and photocopied zine containing an essay on memory, insomnia, and replication.

Opening

The opening reception for “sleep as information/the fountain is a water feature” will be held on Saturday, April 19th from 6 - 8pm. Ed Steck will read at the reception.

About the Artist

Ed Steck lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His most recent publications include The Garden: Synthetic Environment for Analysis and Simulation (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2013) and The Rose (with Adam Marnie, Hassla Books, 2013), which was selected as part of High Desert Test Sites. His work has most recently appeared in LIT, Brooklyn Rail, Intercourse Magazine, Boog City, and 1913: a journal of forms. He is the co-editor of American Books.