Elmgreen & Dragset’s blackened bronze sculpture A Greater Perspective depicts an oversize telescope. The sculpture is usually exhibited at a site with a view where one might expect to find binoculars or telescopes often mounted on stands at popular tourist attractions, to provide a zoomed-in view of the surroundings. However, Elmgreen & Dragset’s nearly 4-meter-high telescope is completely dysfunctional, a “mute” object that brings attention to the view and at the same time encourages a different way of experiencing it. Made of patinated bronze and perched on a stand with spindly legs in the style of Louise Bourgeois’ iconic spiders and Alberto Giacometti’s sculptures, it towers above the heads of visitors, thwarting the inclination to take a peek into the eyepiece. Yet even if this telescope could be reached, there would be nothing to see; the entire sculpture is made of bronze, with no lens through which to view the scenery. The imposing main body of the telescope is disproportionate with the slender legs, making it seem as though the structure is almost not able to support itself. This tool, which normally helps you get a close-up view of something from afar, has itself been turned into the very object to be observed—with its awkward, thin legs and heavy body, it appears to be some sort of endangered species.
A Greater Perspective was previously exhibited in the group exhibition Panorama (April 2015–March 2016) at New York’s High Line, at a location where it is possible to spot the Statue of Liberty.