Paradigma in old Greek meant “to be set side by side” and is from where the present day paradigm is derived. A paradigm could be defined as a conceptual framework of accepted world views including assumptions, values, goals, beliefs, expectations and theories. In the 60’s a man named Tomas Kuhn more or less coined the term: paradigm shift, in his writings. Simply put, this is the replacement of the old guard with the vanguard of the new belief system.

Examples of this shift can be seen in the Greco-Roman paginism giving way to the Christian influences three to four hundred years after Christ and their “Truth” being overshadowed by the enlightenment of the 17th - 18th centuries based on the scientific revolution of those years. These shifts don’t just happen. They are driven by agents of change. Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein and Freud were all agents of change. Change is never ending and the most constant thing we know.

The Paradigma Project consists of 27 cubes set side by side. Each one either increasing or decreasing in size from the one before depending from which direction you approach the laid out cubes. The unit of measure for the change in size is 1/27th of the whole. I arrived at this figure by dividing each of the three dimensions by three. And three times three times three is 27. A simple way to visualize the physical process of this project would be to think of it as the construction and or deconstruction of the cube. These terms are actually interchangeable because both of these processes are going on at the same time.

For clarity sake I will explain the progression going from large to small. All measurements are in cm. The first cube would be 90 x 90 x 90. The second cube would also be 90 x 90 x 90 but with an area 30 x 30 x 30 taken away. The third cube would have two areas of 30 x 30 x 30 taken away and so on and so on until you ended with a cube of 30 x 30 x 30. This cube would in turn be reduced to 10 x 10 x 10 in the same manner and the 10 x 10 x 10 would work its way down to 3.3 x 3.3 x 3.3 and the last series would culminate in a cube 1.1 x 1.1 x 1.1.

The largest in the series, 90 x 90 x 90, will be made in an African black granite named Assoluto. The smallest will be made in silver and the two middle dimensions will be made in multiple series involving bronze, aluminum, Persian travertine and Belgium black marble. There will also be a number of dip tychs, trip tychs, quartettes and quintettes taken from the series made in various materials for the marketing of the project. A maquette made in Carrara white statuario with dimensions going from 5 x 5 x 5 to 15 x 15 x 15 has been completed and is presented as the above movie on this site.

In conclusion I would like to return to the ideas of the first paragraph.

The idea of change has allways fascinated me. Not necessarily change for changes sake but a creative change hopefully for the better. When these paradigm shifts occurred the changes were usually for the better. Of course many people were killed because of the old guards’ reluctance to give up power but the new truth won out. Within my Paradigma Project I don’t pretend to be dealing with any truth on any level. I just like beginning with a cube, ending with a cube, having all this changing in between and having it set side by side in a nice long row - truth, change, changing truths, static. Everything changing staying the same.

See & hear my thoughts about the Paradigma Project in this interview (9:51 min, 7,3 MB, QuickTime 7)

More photos can be viewed in the exhibitions section under the following three exhibitions: