progression without end

progression without end at Los Angeles State Historic Park
Photo: Gina Clyne
progression without end at Los Angeles State Historic Park
Photo: Gina Clyne
progression without end at Los Angeles State Historic Park
Photo: Gina Clyne
progression without end at Los Angeles State Historic Park
Photo: Gina Clyne
progression without end at Los Angeles State Historic Park
Photo: Gina Clyne
progression without end at Los Angeles State Historic Park
Photo: Gina Clyne

progression without end
Ignacio Perez Meruane

September 20, 2020 – November 15, 2020
Los Angeles State Historic Park

Clockshop presents progression without end by Ignacio Perez Meruane, a site-specific sculpture inspired by Los Angeles State Historic Park’s unique history. Los Angeles State Historic Park is located along the site of the Zanja Madre (Mother Ditch), which brought water to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, and was formerly the westernmost terminus of the Southern Pacific Rail Line. 

At nearly 100 feet in length, progression without end is a collapsed artwork, forming a precariously elegant guide rail, each piece balancing on the next. A combination of ready-made industrial materials, uncovered railroad scraps, and hand-carved components, Perez Meruane’s work speaks to expansionist ideas of modernity and constructed notions of linear progress. Parts of the sculpture such as the original rusted railroad track are left unaltered, while other components are cast in a repeating motif referencing Constantin Brâncuși’s monolithic Endless Column.  Limitlessly adaptable to different materials and scales, Brâncuși’s method mirrors the relentless movement of the rail industry, the linear geoengineering of the nearby Los Angeles River system, and the development currently visible from the park.

This work is presented as part of Clockshop’s 2019 Open Call for Bowtie Commissions. Clockshop has shifted our public programs and artwork commissions from the Bowtie site along the Los Angeles River to the Los Angeles State Historic Park as part of our strategic response to state and local health ordinances for how public gatherings can take place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LOCATION

Use the map above to guide you in your visit to progression without end.
Los Angeles State Historic Park: 1501 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ignacio Perez Meruane was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and raised in Santiago, Chile (Lives and works in Los Angeles). Perez Meruane received a BFA in General Sculptural Studies from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. His recent exhibitions include work at The Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA (2019); and solo exhibitions at Rogers, Los Angeles, CA (2018) and the Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, CA (2017).

Recordings

Beatriz Cortez and Ignacio Perez Meruane in Conversation

October 16, 2020

William Deverell and Ignacio Perez Meruane in Conversation

November 14, 2020