On exhibit 3/30/21-4/17/21 in the South Gallery
Artist Statement:
I have always had a deep interest in architecture and it has often been a driving force in my artwork. But recently, I have shifted my focus from the building to the decoration. What happens to an architectural embellishment when it is removed from its host building? Does the object lose its meaning or take on new importance? These are just some of the questions that my work seeks to answer. These sculptures rearticulate disused architecture, in order to show the way in which style, often separated by rigid parameters, can be reimagined as fluid, modular, and valuable.
With this series of sculptures, I seek to better understand what a decontextualized and deconstructed ornament can come to represent through digital synthesis and mechanized reiteration. At its core, this work will demonstrate how the functional can be derived from the ornamental; and how the application of technology can question the role of “master” craftsperson or designer. I will continue to refine a methodology of architectural synthesis, analysis, and articulation that I can use across all styles and histories of architecture that draw my interest. My hope is that as I investigate more of these now defunct styles, I am able to uncover new meaning from old designs. To do this I have focused my attention on the Ennis House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Designed in 1923 for Charles and Mabel Ennis and built in 1924. It is the largest of the four existing Mayan revival textile block homes he built.
