Jeff Feld's "forgetting"
by Michael St.Germain

Here is a wood, plaster and vinyl object by New York City artist Jeff Feld.

As this work is (essentially) a cylinder, it can be rolled. The ability of the viewer to roll this work in thought or in deed is of the utmost importance in understanding it.

If you roll this cylinder and bring it to rest with "forgetting" out of sight, you will most certainly remember that the word no longer visible is "forgetting".

At least you will in the short term.

If you roll this cylinder continually, you will witness a cyclical appearance, disappearance and reappearance of the word "forgetting".

Which of the above two actions will ensure a longer lasting memory of the word for the viewer?

The second will.

Rolling the object gives the viewer more time in front of the text as well as a greater number of exposures to it. The cyclical appearance, disappearance and reappearance of the word casually conditions the viewer to, ironically, remember it.

Perhaps this work is a metaphor for "forgetting"...

Things that are forgotten are "far away" and "out of sight". Things that are remembered are "close by" and "in clear view".

Things that are in the act of being forgotten are "rolling away" and things that are in the act of being remembered are "coming into sight".

How long will you remember this work? Will the incorporation of the word "forgetting" into this work of art subliminally remind you not to forget it?

All of the above can be ascertained from looking at a photo of the work. Here are a few of the artist's thoughts (taken out of context)...

"...art is expansive over time and I have had many thoughts about that work since its creation...
What you don't get from the photo is that the work also has "forgetting" written in the same place on the other side, so as one rotates the work a type of forgetting and remembering occurs..."

"...the origin of the form is a water tank truck, the type used after 9/11 here (NYC) at Ground Zero. These trucks were constantly dumping water in the city in an attempt to wash away the dust, to make it go away."

"This "tank" got me thinking about memory and how the ability to forget is essential to human function, yet everything we experience is contained somewhere, stored somewhere..."

"...there is something pathological about a circular motion and the idea that we continue to return or behave in ways that perhaps are not good fits. We forget only to return..."


Note: forgetting (2004), plaster, wood, vinyl, 41"x96"x36"