In Primacy of Shape, I transformed the MIT Wiesner Student Art Gallery into a printmaking studio and workshop for a growing exhibition of prints, a video animation, and a handmade book. The exhibition looks at shapes as symbols, inspired by Friedrich Fröbel’s early 20th-century educational geometric toy sets called “Gifts,” in which the sphere, cylinder, and cube symbolize truth, knowledge, and beauty. Inspiration is found in organic objects and their ecological sources—found shapes that connect to the natural places they emerge from.
Included in the exhibition are three short films, including Recursive Gardens, an examination of the pedagogical roots of kindergarten and the notion of nurture rather than genius as a predictor of success. The aesthetics of early kindergarten teaching materials became important building blocks of 20th-century art and design in Germany, as well as a touchstone for my reflections on shape, relationship, nature, and nurture. Read more about this exhibition.
