This Present Moment

Alicia Eggert, This Present Moment, 2019-2020, neon, custom controller, steel, 14418048 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Renwick General Acquisitions Fund, 2021.4, © 2019, Alicia Eggert

Artwork Details

Title
This Present Moment
Date
2019-2020
Dimensions
14418048 in.
Copyright
© 2019, Alicia Eggert
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Renwick General Acquisitions Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
neon, custom controller, steel
Classifications
Object Number
2021.4

Artwork Description

“Time itself cannot be made, but if time is a medium, what can be made present with it? Can it be stretched and compressed like clay? Can it be turned like wood, carved like stone, bent like glass, or woven like twine? If we use time to make new forms, perhaps those forms can help us tell stories that have previously gone untold.” —Alicia Eggert


Sculptor Alicia Eggert creates immersive experiences of time. This neon billboard casts a brilliant pink light throughout the Renwick’s Octagon Room, prompting us to become more present in this very moment. Eggert illuminates a quote by revolutionary futurist Stewart Brand, from his book The Clock of the Long Now (1999), a manifesto for living intentionally with a ten-thousand-year-old clock in mind. The pink is a call out to the Me Too movement of 2017, a once unimaginable social reckoning that empowered people to share past stories of sexual harassment and assault, demand accountability, and make possible safer conditions for all.


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (7 items)

William Hunter, Golden Shell, 1994, satinwood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur and Charles Bresler in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995--2003), 2003.60.24, © 1994, William Hunter
Golden Shell
Date1994
satinwood
Not on view
William Hunter, Visions, 1987, cocobolo, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jane and Arthur K. Mason, 1991.169.4, © 1987, William Hunter
Visions
Date1987
cocobolo
Not on view
Marianne Hunter, William Hunter, Africa, 1990, satinwood, ebony, 24k gold, sterling silver, fine silver, enamel, and rutilated quartz, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur and Charles Bresler in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995--2003), 2003.60.27A-C, © 1990, William and Marianne Hunter
Africa
Date1990
satinwood, ebony, 24k gold, sterling silver, fine silver, enamel, and rutilated quartz
Not on view
Marianne Hunter, William Hunter, Evening Blossom, 1989, ebony, 24k gold, sterling silver, enamel, amethyst, and charoite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur and Charles Bresler in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995--2003), 2003.60.26A-C, © 1989, William and Marianne Hunter
Evening Blossom
Date1989
ebony, 24k gold, sterling silver, enamel, amethyst, and charoite
Not on view

Exhibitions

Quilt featuring the portrait of a woman
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World
May 13, 2022April 2, 2023
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today.

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More Artworks from the Collection

Gene Pozzesi, Untitled, ca. 1996, Gabon ebony, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur and Charles Bresler in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995--2003), 2003.60.47
Untitled
Dateca. 1996
Gabon ebony
Not on view
Ron Fleming, Black Lotus, 1996, ebony, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur and Charles Bresler in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995--2003), 2003.60.16
Black Lotus
Date1996
ebony
Not on view
Frederick A. Miller, Dish, 1960, hammered and engraved sterling silver with ebony, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of an anonymous donor in memory of Dorothy S. Payer and in honor of Frederick A. Miller, 1992.107.2
Dish
Date1960
hammered and engraved sterling silver with ebony
On view
Earl Pardon, Box Ring, ca. 1960, sterling silver, ebony, ivory and amethyst, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Renwick Acquisitions Fund, 2003.20
Box Ring
Dateca. 1960
sterling silver, ebony, ivory and amethyst
Not on view