sign 1997

Carsten Nicolai made this artwork called 'sign' and you know, looking at it, I feel like I'm gazing at some kind of minimalist stage. It's this disc, a solid plane in a world of grey. The image carved into its surface almost feels like a missing piece, a shadow of something that once was, or perhaps something that is yet to come. I can imagine the artist thinking about symbols, how simple shapes can carry a whole world of meaning. I think about Ad Reinhardt and his black paintings and how they collapse any representational reading. It feels like the artist is inviting us to contemplate the space between what is seen and what is understood. What stories do we project onto this stark image? It’s like a Rorschach test, but for the digital age. It’s a quiet piece, but it speaks volumes, doesn't it?