Monday, January 22, 2007

(above: able wholesale building, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

strategic substrates: view ports + theatrics in Point Douglas

The past weekend was spent assembling a photo essay of potential sites in Point Douglas - the following images are samples from this endeavor. After touring the site during the past couple of weeks, it was a good start to begin to look at the neighborhood at a more concentrated scale. I was looking primarily for sites that were intimate, but that had potential for development in a theatrical sense; ultimately viewports and visual boundaries that can serve as a potential stage for an installation. As the installation itself has not yet been defined in type or scale, allowing for a broad range of sites to be explored.

(above: fire-opened view port into the the able wholesale building, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

A series of view ports in the most traditional sense, the Able Wholesale building has been forcefully opened by fire. It is ultimately composed of a series of square openings where walls have been knocked out - and embodies a feel that one could liken to the imagery in Locus Solus; one could imagine a series of reanimated corpses living in these spaces.

(above: semi-trailer on the able wholesale lot, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

Peering through the fence into the lot at Able Wholesale, one can see the accumulation of pieces that represent years of collecting. The semi truck trailer, pictured above, creates its own boundaries and stage through the perspectival position of the viewer.

(above: mural at the plumbers + pipefitters building, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

Given the conversation on the main studio blog concerning public murals, I started to become inspired by these modern architectural "grotesques." While the representation of the human body is over exaggerated (see below) and perfected, it is the mural itself that becomes grotesque through our own interpretation of public art. Those of us educated in art appreciation may initially see these as "safe" and poor forms of graf art, thus establishing the similar distaste and deformity as any classical grotesque character. Pathos is created through the opposing viewpoint; the condescending nature of educated opinion, especially in a neighborhood such as this, is something to be pitied. Art is meant to create a reaction; and there are undoubtedly some residents of the community that enjoy these pieces.

(above: detail of the mural, plumbers + pipefitters building, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

It's also worthwhile mentioning the soviet constructivist aesthetic of this mural - largely evocative of "Man with a Movie Camera."

(above: view port, underpass to louise bridge on higgins, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

Another view port, open alongside the underpass towards the Louise Bridge (on Higgins), provides another opportunity for theatrical speculation. These openings are randomly located along many walkways; where the views have been boarded away and closed off, pedestrians are offered an opportunity to peer into the unknown spaces beyond.

(above: the barber house, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

The Barber house has become particularly fascinating, particularly because of its history. As one of the only remaining Red River constructed houses, it is a historical gem for Winnipeg; strangely each time it is restored, arson sets it back to its current state. The result is a small boarded house, surrounded by chain-link fence. The fence is speckled with children's paintings, which strangely leaves the building resembling something more terrifying than innocent.

(above: gentlemen's trailer, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

The gentlemen's trailer, pictured above and below, is located just outside the tip of Point Douglas on the outskirts of Gateway Industries' property. The trailer itself has been treated as a grotesque of Gateway's larger system: it has been cast outside of the fenced-in, visually blocked Gateway warehouses. It seems almost sad that the "Gentlemen" would be forced to change and use the outhouses in a structure that does not belong to the greater whole - especially when the acts that occur within this space are among the most intimate of human activity.

(above: detail of the gentlemen's trailer, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

The base of the trailer is rusted, and sits on a lot of overgrown grass. Smaller sub-spaces, defined by the base of the trailer and the geometry of the mechanisms and suspension below, are interesting and discreet. Spaces are further composed by the nature of the area: the grasses, taller in some areas than some, provide a variety of shelter.

Installation concepts have thus far included work with projection, and mechanics. Initial thoughts led to work that could possibly add moving, life, animation to existing murals.
It's likely that the installation will be composed of a series of mechanical bits, inspired by the previous stage of the studio, that could work with light to project shadow onto the face of a building. The smaller the scale of these mechanisms will be easier for projection, but more importantly would add to the discreet nature of the installation.

Labels: design, Point Douglas

Monday, January 15, 2007

been awhile...

I've managed to get away from the blog for over a month. In the interim both the final project and the portfolio have been completed, and I will post select images from both here.

As for the stop animation that was completed: I need to downsize the file further before I can get it up on youtube. It'll come when that gets done.

From the portfolio:
animation here
The animation created to show the construction process and to demonstrate the story of this project, "The Personal Strife of the Humiliated Lusus Naturae," is an integral component of this project. Influenced firstly by the Brothers Quay, but also by the dismemberments of my childhood dolls, the animation pays homage to the mysticism and curiosity prevalent in 19th century science, but also traveling showmanship of the same era. "Lusus Naturae" translates loosely to contemporary terminologies as "freak," a term often used to describe those that were not of the conventional physical descriptions.

(above: the final project - "the personal strife of the humiliated lusus naturae")
From the portfolio:
Strangely, as "normal" as some of the toys initially look, each toy had its own contribution to the notion of "freak." Some, like the boobah, the teletubby, and even Elmo, are described as monsters from the beginning; to the contrart, their personalities are happy, friendly...
To the other extreme, the stretchy doll and the princess are seemingly both "normal" physically... abnormalities arise from one doll's positive reactions to being stretched (in an almost torturous masochistic way) to the complete passive aggressive personality from the princess. This in many ways is almost more frightening than physical deformities, and is certainly more dangerous, as this doll is likely to inspire a whole new generation of little-girls-come-beauty-queens.

Other images:

(above: the lusus naturae. legs constructed from found mechanisms, fur from existing doll skin + acrylic paint, rotating film is original film + acrylic paint)