Sterling Crispin's N.A.N.O. , B.I.O. , I.N.F.O. , C.O.G.N.O. included in Refuge.
21c Kansas City
219 W 9th St
Kansas City, MO 64105
July 2018 – May 2019
"Contemplating how we will pursue a better life in the mid-21st century, Sterling Crispin combines references to ancient symbols and new technology in his survivalist sculptures, N.A.N.O. , B.I.O. , I.N.F.O. , C.O.G.N.O. The works are named after Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology, and Cognitive Science, four industries which the artist says “promise to revolutionize the world as society approaches the technological singularity, a predicted event near the year 2045 in which the rate of technological growth becomes infinite. Each sculpture is meant to be a poetic and evocative embodiment of these four industries as deities or totemic spirits, but also a market embodiment as each sculpture contains a certificate for 100 shares of stock in a real company doing transformative research in these industries. There’s also a use-value vs. market-value conversation in the work with the water filter that can provide clean drinking water for a family of four for two years.” These works were inspired by the artist’s observations of the dichotomies between expanding technological progress and the environmental extremes of frequent fires, draughts, and earthquakes in California. Under these conditions, many people would become environmental refugees; in such a scenario, Crispin’s totems may offer both relief and belief in the possibility of survival."