Tag Archives: conversing

Denk mal… (#1)

May 27, 2013

DENK MAL… (#1)

Denkmal
noun 1: German for monument.

denk
noun 1: German for thought 2 verb: the imperative of denken, to think.

denk mal (an)
“think about it”.

During my artist residency at HB Berlin, I walked from home to base and back, trying to listen closely and actively to place, attending to the small, the subtle, the unstable and the slow. I set out to make connections at ground level, on foot and on the go, without losing sight of disconnections. I walked alone and alongside; both on my own and assisted by the scroller. During one particular outing with Vera and Hanae, as we were digging for asides and overlooked corners, we encountered an odd and mysterious object embedded in the sidewalk. A metallic frame, too tall to be intended for locking bikes, too awkwardly positioned to hold advertisements. Hanae swung from it, Vera photographed it, I measured and sketched it, we interviewed passersby about it. Now long after learning its original intended use, I’m still being strongly drawn to this menhir-like structure, still making drawings of it, still drawing attention to it and all its possible different uses and meanings. By restoring it and honoring its presence in a more official-ish way, I’m hoping to set it in motion in a way that it remains untranslatable, unknowable and in process; oscillating between the banal and the valuable, fixity and movement, being a relic and a monument.

Hanae and Vera

Pre-restoration (detail #1).

Pre-restoration (detail #2).

Pre-restoration (detail #3).

The internationally recognized ‘Blue Shield’ emblem of the “International Register of Cultural Property” (Article 16 of the 1954 Hague Convention; adopted by the UNESCO).

Marking originally used in the GDR to mark protected buildings/monuments. Now used in most German states.

Special thanks: Vera Schöpe, Hanae Utamura, Adrian Brun, Oliver Staadt, Dana Claasen, Laura Jefcoate, Sarah Lüdemann, HomeBase Build IV.

Posted in co-laborings, footings, giftings, – ALL – | Also tagged drawing, intervention, object, performance, photography, site-specific |

Sporadic Houses

January 12, 2012

This project consists in the construction of three-dimensional and life-sized edifices using the drawings of archetypal houses I made as a child as my points of reference. So far, 4 different constructions, on 8 occasions and in 5 different countries have been installed.

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SPORADIC HOUSE #1:

The ‘blueprint’ for the first of the series is a graphite drawing on my dad’s old architecture studio stationary, while the ‘house’ itself is made out of eight stretched canvases.

“Blueprint” for House #1 (ca. 1978)

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SPORADIC HOUSE #2:

For the second house, I opted for whatever organic material was available at each space, given that the blueprint is a collage made out of twigs and dried leaves. I first built it in Venice using mostly pine needles, and then in a diversely vegetated Barcelona park, from where it vanished mysteriously one night. Weeks later we discovered that a family of travellers had taken it because they needed an extra room. My intention was to build it on my own, but everyday dozens of people would come by to offer to help out and so the construction process became a week-long communal action.

“Blueprint” for House #2 (ca. 1980)

Construction process. Venice, Italy

Construction process. Sant Pol de Mar, Barcelona

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SPORADIC HOUSE #3:

“Blueprint” for House #3. (ca. 1979) Sketch my father made while teaching (me?) about perspective and on top of which I traced with a red marker trying to follow his lines.

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SPORADIC HOUSE #4:

The blueprint for the fourth house is an odd case. Generally, a child will first draw a house and then it’s surroundings, but I did exactly the opposite and seem to have decided against coloring it in. Therefore, my material of construction for the aluminum structure, aside from the frame, is space. Walls, roof, door and chimney are made out of the landscape it is located in.

My plan is to take this house on a few hikes and use it as my camping tent.

“Blueprint” for House #3 (ca. 1980)

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With support from CONACULTA , The Banff Centre for the Arts, Museu de Sant Pol + Amics de les Arts.

Special thanks: Carlos Aguirre, Soledad Arias, Ivan Bercedo, Graciela Blackaller, Jo Bristol, Jordi Folgado, Pilar Gallegos, Ricard Ibernon, Mihalis Kyriazis, Jorge Mestre, Chiara Molon, Eva Noé, Fernando Noé, Cristina Pastó, Perejaume, Marcelino Perelló, Mercedes Perelló, Joan Puigdefábregas, Josep Sauleda, La Tana, Alex Tsiboulski, Luca Ugolini, Valentina Zarco.

Posted in assemblings, – ALL – | Also tagged installation, intervention, performance, site-specific |