Woven Walls
2008 Ford Scholars Project Description
| Project Director: | Harry Roseman |
| Department: | Art |
| Dates: | 8 weeks total to be completed between May 26 – August 1, 2008. |
| Location: | Kleinert Art Center, Woodstock, New York |
| Number of Students: | 1 |
Description of the Project:
Project Description:
Woven Walls will be a very large site-specific drawing installation at the Kleinert Art Center in Woodstock, NY. One of the aims of this installation will be to heighten and change the viewers’ perception of being in this space and by doing so, to engender a broader awareness of the way architectural spaces function. I would like to set in motion levels of metaphorical intervention that will have perceptual as well as poetic implications. This will be done using a metaphorical structural system, the weave. Though different from the structural system of a building there are still commonalities between the two kinds of structures. The main differences, of course, are the flexibility, softness and flowing nature of the weave, and the rigidity of this (and most) built architectural structures. What they have in common is that they both utilize systems of incremental structure to move towards an outcome that builds strength, utility and an increase in scale. Juxtaposing these two systems, constructed architecture and woven cloth will do a number of things. One, which I have touched upon, would be to bring out a heightened awareness of the physical surroundings, both spatially and materially. The other result will be a disjuncture of perception; that is, being in a room that is built of rigid material the sense of which is undermined/altered by overlaying a vocabulary of flexible materials. The Kleinert is a large space and except for the drawing, it will remain empty. This situation is fundamentally different from objects, drawings and paintings hung on a wall. Because of this, issues of exhibition and galleries/museums are being explored. The installation will be monochromatic, black line on white wall. It will be made using black latex house paint, drawn with brushes. The weave will be denser in the larger expanses and open out nearer to doors, windows and corners. This response to the architectural context will create a push/pull, cause and effect relationship between the two systems of construction. Underlying the relationship of the weave and contemporary construction processes will be the historical precedent of the earliest forms of architecture, woven grass or twig huts.
Anticipated Summer Activities:
Even though I will be directing this installation, it is an experimental undertaking with collaborative aspects. This means that the Ford Scholar and other assistants working with me will be working on preparatory stages of the project. In so doing, they will be helping in decision making. For a couple of weeks before the actual installation starts, we will be working at Vassar on full-scale exploratory stages of the works’ development. The Ford Scholar will be working with me the longest of any of the assistants so will be working particularly closely on the developmental stages of the project. I will not know the exact final outcome of the project until it is done. Decision-making will continue throughout the process of installation. I will be directing and talking with the student while going back and forth to my work on the project. This means that the student will, from time to time, have to make decisions on aspects of the work itself. These will be informed decisions, because by that time we will have worked together on the preparatory stages. During this time, we will have discussed at length the goals, success and failures of the preparatory process as well as precedents for this work, my own as well as that of other artists.
I will be giving a public lecture at the Klienert in July, so the student will assist me in organizing and image preparation. The student will also be working along with me on documenting the project as it develops. Since this is a major undertaking with a finite life span (it will be painted over after the exhibition) the documentary aspects of the record of its process and existence will be important.
Preferred Student Qualifications/Skills:
Drawing skills – I don’t necessarily mean the ability to draw a convincing scene or a car from memory, but a reasonable amount of dexterity and the ability to follow instructions and make informed intuitive decisions. Organizational skills, computer skills and design and animation skills would be nice but are not of tantamount importance.
Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for the Student:
Work on the documentary aspects of the project will continue past the summer. These will include some of the following: Finalizing the project’s web presence, a small booklet or artist’s book, a short film containing a mix of live action and animation. If a class project evolve out of this undertaking, the student will be welcome to be involved with that as well.