The Time and the Temperature

Columbus Public Art 2012 Columbus, Ohio, USA

Project Website

The Time and The Temperature consisted of a custom-made sign, similar to ones commonly seen in front of businesses, churches, and schools throughout the U.S. that give the exact time and temperature of the location where they are installed. Rubin's sign, however, tells the current time and temperature in Tehran, Iran a city that is geographically distant, yet is in our news on a daily basis. The Time and The Temperature presents a moment in the city where the space between here and there is collapsed and the citizens of Columbus can temporarily project themselves into a foreign place and circumstance. The sign was sited across from the Ohio state capital building during the 2012 presidential election. Throughout the run of the project, there were open public forums with cultural, religious, academic, and political leaders discussing some of the complicated issues at stake in U.S. and Iranian relations.

Special Thanks to: Malcolm Cochran, Shelly Willis, Trinity Episcopal Church, Da–Nite Sign Co, The Columbus Underground, Sohrab Kashani, and Pirouz Shoar.

Artist interview in Columbus Underground

Columbus Underground Interview between artist and local Iranian American Pirouz Shoar