Olafur Eliasson. Photograph by Heike Gottert

Got a question for Olafur Eliasson?

Tweet a question tagged #askSOE during the run of his Tate show and you could find it answered by the man himself

Like many great contemporary artists, Olafur Elisson is able to talk about his work clearly and eloquently. In the question-and-answer interview in our book, Olafur Eliasson: Experience, his studio colleague Anna Engberg-Pedersen, poses a series of pertinent questions to Olafur, to which he supplies some great responses.  

For instance, why does he make art? “To make art, for me, means to be in dialogue with the world,” says the artist. “People may not always like my ideas or artworks, but even so I am acknowledged as a speaker, as a contributor, which makes me feel I’m part of the times I live in. This is crucial to me, because it allows me to be conscious of my own existence. It is through this feeling of connectedness that I can sense the agency my artworks have in the world.” 

Or, how about, when he works in the studio, what tells him when an artwork is done? “Making an artwork is a ping-pong process,” Eliasson response. “I am most present at the beginning and towards the end and for some other crucial steps; I trust the team to move ahead between these moments of contact and mutual deliberation. A work is done when we cannot add something to or remove something from it without it becoming less precise.” 

 

Olafur Eliasson: Experience
Olafur Eliasson: Experience

Of course, there are plenty other worthwhile questions that visitors the Tate’s new exhibition, Olafur Eliasson: In Real Life, may want to pose to Eliasson and his team. So, the artist’s studio has opened themselves up to enquiries, via Twitter. 

Post questions via that social network, using the hashtag #askSOE, and they may get back to you. They’ve been collecting questions, and from today there will be one question every day over on their site, Olafureliasson.net. “Please start tweeting your questions with #askSOE, and stay tuned!” they say.

Go here for more on that, and to read more of Olafur Eliasson’s responses to questions about his life and work, buy a copy of Olafur Eliasson: Experience here.