Sculpture Studio Spring 2012

Project 3: Site, Place, and Installation

With this work, I created a tableau based on a particular memory. The scene can only be observed through a pair of viewing holes. The tableau is an adaptation of a room dissected from a dilapidated house that I discovered a year or so ago. The inspiration for this piece came from Marcel Duchamp’s Étant donnés and mixed with the aforementioned memory. I wanted to create a solemn environment that expressed the experience of exploring the building and the emotions that are mingled with that memory.

Exterior

The container was created as a rectangle shaped wooden object. The outer surface is painted solid black with no outer protrusions. This was so that there would be no indication of what laid inside. As you peer into the tableau from the viewing holes it is apparent that the rectangle is divided into two areas. The viewer peering through the viewing holes is drawn beyond the open doorway into a room that is in total disarray. The walls with their paint cracking are covered in water stains, mold, and graffiti. The floor is covered with a plethora of dirt, mold, and broken pottery and wood. The lighting solely relies on an outside source. The blue that envelopes the interior is possible because of a thin layer of blue paint applied to a sheet of Mylar used as a diffuser. The deterioration is a physical representation of abandonment. A once lively, vibrant abode has since become abandoned and forgotten. The significance of the blue lighting is the association that the color blue has with depression.

Interior

The only sign of life present within the space is the mold on the walls. The mold holds a twofold meaning as it represents deterioration of the domestic property; it also represents growth. Within the dirt and debris also evident is the beginning of another form, green with life: four vines emerging from the floor. These sources of green are an implication of renewal as the space is being ‘reclaimed’, providing a small sense of hope.

Overall, I think I achieved my goals in the creation of this site-specific piece, through both the physical and psychological characteristics. However, if I could, I would remove the two ‘graffiti’ words from the far wall. I believe they make the emotion of the piece too literal, when it can just as easily be felt when one looks into the work.