Labyrinth Box (2)

“Labyrinth is a way of seeing it – seeing it through.”—John Willenbecher John Willenbecher is attracted to labyrinths as a pattern and an idea. While they allude to traveling or journeys, they also have a strong formal quality. In Labyrinth Box, the complex pattern can be traced visually from top to center. Willenbecher plays with spatial ambiguity by presenting the labyrinth path, horizontal by nature, vertically, and in front of a circle of 18 spheres that evoke the night sky. In spite of these and other disorienting visual devices, Willenbecher is not concerned with creating a sense of fear or confusion in his labyrinths. Instead, he explained, “I like the idea of being able to progress at a steady pace; after all the variations you come out at the end.” Today, visitors daily walk and run the path of Willenbecher’s monumental Labyrinth, an installation in the museum’s Target Park.