Onwards & Upwards
Mixed media installation in display cases on 3rd floor of Art & Design Building, University of Kansas
Overall dimensions: 28’ x 6’ x 1.5’
December 2012
This project was inspired by Communist attempts to engineer an ideal "New Soviet Man" during the glory days of the U.S.S.R. The New Soviet Man, like Nietzsche's Übermensch, was intended to represent a literal future state in human evolution. While this idea may seem laughable today, it was a powerful force throughout the 20th century--not only in the Soviet Union, but closer to home as well. Onwards & Upwards represents itself as a museum of human evolution assembled by a private collector, Prof. Frances Galton (a distant relation to the pioneering British social scientist Sir Francis Galton, who developed the idea of eugenics). The first case contains a map of human evolution showing the spread of New Soviet Man throughout the "old" and "new" worlds, along with a collection of fiction and non-fiction books on the topic of human evolution. The second case contains reproductions of historical photographs and documents associated with the eugenics movement, along with a vaguely steampunk "surgery table" to carry out the necessary medical interventions. The final case has an X-ray light box showing changes in the human brain as it evolves toward New Soviet Man, along with specimen jars holding the last remnants of various societal ills that have been eradicated in the Communist system. During the exhibition, Prof. Galton made a short gallery talk and answered questions from the audience about her collection.
Overall dimensions: 28’ x 6’ x 1.5’
December 2012
This project was inspired by Communist attempts to engineer an ideal "New Soviet Man" during the glory days of the U.S.S.R. The New Soviet Man, like Nietzsche's Übermensch, was intended to represent a literal future state in human evolution. While this idea may seem laughable today, it was a powerful force throughout the 20th century--not only in the Soviet Union, but closer to home as well. Onwards & Upwards represents itself as a museum of human evolution assembled by a private collector, Prof. Frances Galton (a distant relation to the pioneering British social scientist Sir Francis Galton, who developed the idea of eugenics). The first case contains a map of human evolution showing the spread of New Soviet Man throughout the "old" and "new" worlds, along with a collection of fiction and non-fiction books on the topic of human evolution. The second case contains reproductions of historical photographs and documents associated with the eugenics movement, along with a vaguely steampunk "surgery table" to carry out the necessary medical interventions. The final case has an X-ray light box showing changes in the human brain as it evolves toward New Soviet Man, along with specimen jars holding the last remnants of various societal ills that have been eradicated in the Communist system. During the exhibition, Prof. Galton made a short gallery talk and answered questions from the audience about her collection.
