HABITAT
For my latest project, Habitat, in the Mammal Hall of the former Grand Rapids Public Museum, I created a site-specific installation, juxtaposing the existing landscapes of 27 habitat dioramas built in the mid-20th century with contemporary architectural intervention. By doing so, I explored what happens in an environment when overlaying a geometric abstraction onto representational yet "virtual" spaces. Mark Stryker of the Detroit Free Press wrote, “The New York artist magically transforms the natural history dioramas in a gallery through the imposition of architectural forms. In one, wooden grids hold deer captive. In another, visitors walk inside the environment via a bridge: present reality invading a mythologized past.”
© Photo by Marc Lins
© Photo by Marc Lins
© Photo by Marc Lins
ELK DIORAMA COMING TOGETHER
With the help of my wife, Florencia Minniti and last year’s all-star volunteer, Bob Rogers, Paul Amenta, and Alex, the Elk diorama is coming together. It has taken four days and will be the biggest build of Habitat.
© Photo by Florencia Minniti
BUILDING OUT THE MOOSE DIORAMA
From elk to beavers to coyotes and now to moose! Here, I am building a platform that extends from the background of the diorama into the main hall space. Much like the science of the diorama, this piece plays on perspective and viewers will have the unique opportunity to walk into the diorama.
© Photo by Marc Lins
PRIOR CONDITION
When the Grand Rapids Public Museum was relocated from 54 Jefferson in 1994, they decided to take some of the taxidermied animals and leave some behind. In the following archival images (of which I took snapshots) you can see the original specimens in their respective dioramas.
In preparation of my installation of Habitat, I have gone through the archives of the Grand Rapids Public Museum at 54 Jefferson SE and found the original blueprints. Here, you can see the how the Mammal Hall was mapped out.
© Photo by Artist
ARTPRIZE AND GQ MAGAZINE
Last year, Matthew Power was in Grand Rapids to write a story on ArtPrize for GQ Magazine. He spent a few weeks with us at SiTE:LAB, getting to know the organizers and artists and saw our reactions as the Top 10 artworks by popular vote were revealed. The article, So You Think You Can Paint, is not yet available to read online, but you can download a pdf version of it here.
The article caused quite a stir in Grand Rapids over its scrutiny of the DeVos family and its critical view of ArtPrize. NBC’s Wood 8 reporter, Crystal Hilliard stopped by SiTE:LAB to follow up with us about our reactions to the GQ article. See what we have to say here plus see my work in progress!
