Attacking the Vertical
Ignacio Rábago is fond of simple forms, and he finds this simplicity in a long series of objects: bases, cubes, pillars and chimneys. He views these elements as artistic in themselves; potential objects which are the starting point for a whole range of new forms. The simpler and the stricter the shape, the greater the beauty. In this sense, Rábago appears, paradoxically enough, to be a classic. His sketches, his final drafts and the entire descriptions of projects appear as classical. The difference, the actuality, lies only in his choice of materials.
In an immediate sense, his work is reminiscent of the architect’s, in the elaboration of possible shapes and in the long series of calculations which can always be found in his projects. This is why it is no coincidence that Rábago, in this exhibition, has selected the chimney as triumphing object, as his objet d’amour.
Rábago started out by observing the chimney as an object, and then proceeded to recreate it in numerous sketches and photographs. Pictures that froze an entirely concrete object. In the darkroom, he formalized the object by equalizing differences until the “pure” shape appeared. A shape which, in this case, is the bearer of a myth brought to life by the architectural numbers on which the structure of the construction is based. Even more important for Rábago is the fact that the chimney’s dimensions are to a certain extent connected to the human anatomy.
His former exhibition, “Hvor?”, was based upon another architectural tradition, the labyrinthine monument of the Copenhagen University building in Amager. Rábago chose this building out of spite, as a kind of challenge. He took long strolls through the university, of which he says in the exhibition’s catalogue:
“It became gradually apparent to me that rhythmical sequences played an important part in the distribution and the configuration of the rooms. By rhythmical sequence I mean the relationship that exists between light, benches, clocks, doors, steps… and especially the columns, which are the most important part of this project. They are the fundament of the building, it is they who bring order in the way in which the building is distributed. I want to create disorder in this order.”
Rábago thereby accepts the architecture’s premises, with the express purpose of counteracting the structure. He himself created the numerous columns that, on the one hand, break the rhythm of the building, and on the other hand hide the exhibition, which is why it was called “Hvor?” (“Where?”). The architecture is radically modified by the slanting columns, and it is as if it has become a falling monument. The work on the exhibition provided Rábago with surprising physical and mental hardships. But the final result could not be mistaken; the building suddenly existed as an expression of temperament.
In connection with the “Hvor?” project, and in addition to the extensive installation, Rábago prepared two videos. They illustrate his great sensitivity towards the materials. A sensitivity that reaches far deeper than an immediate fascination with rags, paper, cleaning sponges, etc. In the videos, Rábago demonstrates how he works by inductive search; he touches the objects, squeezes them, or puts them in new contexts. And as with the choice of object, Rábago casts affection upon a chosen material: concrete, wood, strings or, as in the current exhibition, bricks. This is also a material he has worked with in earlier exhibitions, Málaga among others. But it is the bricks’ present form and condition that shapes the exhibition; if, for instance, there had been holes in the stones, then this would have “dictated” other possible shapes. The stones could have been hanging from the ceiling. This must not lead one to believe that Rábago creates “arbitrary” productions. His own characteristic style is transformed with certainty into the given processing of the object.
The exhibitions are preceded by hundreds of drawings, sketches and calculations. Rábago examines the material and the shape’s possibilities with mathematical and systematic meticulousness. He creates his own axis upon which the project exists, to which one must add all the new potentials gravitating around this axis: the trunk as the established principle from which possible variations branch out with the utmost finesse.
His method of inductive search is also apparent in the current exhibition: what would happen if cars were hanging down from the chimney? Or if the chimney could be re-created indoors, hanging across the room? Etc. This is how the concepts of space and shape are extended. Actually quite fantastically, because Rábago is not a coldly calculating statistician. On the contrary, he creates surprises, he plays, he adds humour. And in the end, warmth.
All those balanced elements in the exhibitions show Rábago’s inclination for surprises, for the transfer or even transformation of the fascination of the materials to the spectator. The same playfulness appears in his photographs. This is where Rábago places made-up, staged images, and displays the possible combinations of objects. The photographs are at the same time sculptural and, once again, inductive investigations of balances in space. Actually, there exists a parallel between his three-dimensional, physical act of balance between elements, and the two-dimensional nature of photography. Rábago’s elements are truly in balance, but his photographs create an illusion. The pictures are usually taken in his workshop, which can be found in B&W’s disused factory hall in Copenhagen. The central arrangement in his part of the large factory hall consists of two desks and a platform in the middle: a bare stretch in the room is where he primarily does his experiments; concrete blocks, mounted in strings, are tied to the floor and to the ceiling. Here lies the preparation, and even the precondition, of Rábago’s present exhibition.
The object in itself, the abandoned chimney, has been the inspiration, the point of departure. Rábago has now lived with it for a long period of time, and his objet d’amour is probably guided by so much love that he presumably wishes the chimney a better future at Brandts Klædefabrik.