HONOR BILT #01

This is a new series I am developing in reaction to my previous wood sculptures and new research on architecture, construction practices and rituals as well as architectural history in the US. I sourced the title, Honor Bilt #01 from the 1936 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog because of the role the company played in introducing balloon frame construction to the US. They changed not only what western growth/expansion meant but also how we relate to space and move through it.

I am focusing on the core components of a structure (roof, walls, foundation) and the elements that affect their form (frost line, environment, location) to begin creating sculptures that continue to explore shape and object or space and place relationships. I am interested in using materials that reference home, construction, and utility to articulate sculptures and site-specific installations without being tricky, keeping the work honest. I want to expose the materials I use and employ the pre-existing associations that are inherent in them to create a context for each piece.

With the Honor Bilt series, I am excited to explore mold making, casting, assembling, deconstructing, video, and projection as well as dive into more research. I welcome any book recommendations!

Cheers,
Trevor

TAMPERE INSTALLATIONS:

Dislocating purpose, place and the expected. 

Here are images from yesterdays installations in Tampere, Finland where I use firewood as a material to embody my experiences and understanding of finland but dislocate it from its purpose, source and expected experience.

In June I really focused on the insanity of the woodpiles here and use them a medium to reflect upon the social system in the country side where there are great expanses (Finland being the most sparsely populated country in the EU) and it is common to pass strangers on a dirt road and for them to not smile or notice you.   In response to this, I created drawings, paintings and sculpture where play, humor absurdity are important elements.

This month I am continuing with this idea but in an effort to push this further, bring my material into an urban environment to create more immediate installations that engage the public.  I chose highly trafficked locations that offer playful negative space for me to work with.  Reflecting on yesterday, I am thinking about how the firewood is a tool for survival and how this could play a more significant role in the installation (neighborhood selection, location).  Currently, I am borrowing the wood and cannot leave it on location but hopefully as I develop this I will have the opportunity to create more significant installations in neighborhoods where the wood becomes a resource again.  I am interested in the element of time and how the piece would evolve/deconstruct depending upon where (affluent vs. poor neighborhoods) and when (winter vs. summer) I create the work.

This is an ongoing project that will hopefully take many forms and locations so any feedback or questions are welcome as I would love to hear from you and know your thoughts.

B U S I N E S S C A R D S

voila!

E X P O S E D exhibition

I am participating in this exhibition with an amazing group of artists curated by Michelle Gomez.  I cannot be there since I am in Finland and hope all of you in the states can be there for it in my absence!  Please come, check it out, tell your friends and tell me all about it!  Thank you to everyone participating in this and to Michelle for making it all happen.

in memory of a great artist.

Cy Twombly.  My first encounter with his work was at the National Museum in Washington DC in 2001.  His minimal sculpture slathered in plaster and holding a plank of wood in tension with a wedge and a nail stopped me dead in my tracks.  It anchored itself in the middle of the room as if made from lead and pulled me into its maelstrom.  His honest and minimal approach was shockingly new to my sensibility at the time and I could not pour through books on his work fast enough.  Cy made his own way, drew in the dark, and was one hell of an artist. His passing marks an end of an era.  Cheers.

D R A W I N G I N S T A L L A T I O N

Drawing as sculpture.... This month I am approaching my drawings more as sculptures and finally breaking out of the square mold!  My first attempt was a mixed media installation (Charcoal and paint on paper) in the studio.  I enjoy the levity that happens with this work but I am unhappy with the medium.  I am trying to find the means to mass print these now to develop my own massive stockpile of logs which are easily portable and can be installed anywhere. After all, Ryan Air only lets you check 40 lbs!

Please stay tuned for the evolution of this project and the forms it takes!

N E W V I D E O + O P E N I N G

Here is "M E R R Y - G O - R O U N D" completed and in action.  This was a great return to sculpture and has fueled me with many ideas to expand upon.  Thank you for following my process and if you are in Finland on July 2nd, please come and see everything for yourself:

I N P L A T I N U M

New drawing to feast your eyes on.  I suppose this is an homage to finishing the sculpture and is the first part of a series.  Destruction is brewing..... 

CARE Art tour and some fellow residents

Saturday 6.18.11 we participated in a great event of artist lectures, performances, interviews and screenings through the CARE (Contemporary Artists Residency and Exchange) program.  The day started off with an introduction to the art scene of Tampere, Kunsthalle, Backlight, CARE, Arts Council of Pirkanmaa and Katie (kathrynzazenski.com) and I speaking about our work.  There was a good show of Tommi Musturi (www.tarrynandpilar.com) a local Finnish comic artist who is quite good and has a wry sense of humor.
We left Finlayson for Akaa and the Nakyma 2011 presentation.  There were many artists interviewed in Finnish (quite interesting) for there participation in this exhibition titled "Raw Art" as well as our fellow resident artist from Australia Pilar Mata Dupont(www.tarrynandpilar.com).  Her video work is snarky and great!   Following this there was quite a long performance piece involving ash, singing, drawing and and Ahab....What?  Interesting but a bit long with no climax.
We finished the day at Voipaala Art center, a nice art space with many historic barns, buildings for residency, exhibition and teaching.  The space was beautiful and location serene.  There was some good work from Turku there ranging from cast wasa crackers on a grand scale to painting on glass.
This was a great space for presentations by the rest of the Arteles crew; Paolo Ricci (Italy), Travis Janssen (www.travisjanssen.com) (USA), Helene Baril (www.helenebaril.net) (France) and our resident writer Gaylord Brewer (gaylordbrewer.com)(USA).  Please visit all of their sites!  They are all great artists who explore making, thinking and creating in very different ways and have been quite inspiring this past month at Arteles!  Lastly, Edwin Petrus (edwinpetrus.com)(Netherlands) shared his work and practice with us which was exciting!  He is a painter using digital weaving to articulate his experiences and memories.  He said "I did not feel like much of a painter and felt like I was just painting by number..." which is very similar to feelings I have had this past year.  Crazy!  Yesterday he gave us a tour of his apartment over looking the square (the first photo is from there) and of his exhibition in Tampere. His place is insane (you can't miss "EDFIN" taped in the window from the square) and his approach to materials and installation is fresh and great to see.
Thank you everyone for an amazing trip Saturday, sharing your work, inspiring me and doing what you all need to do!

Edwin and his Dutch cheese:

M E R R Y - G O - R O U N D (complete!)

After a little falling out.... Finished! Here is a preliminary shot for the completion of the first installation.  I will have video of this bad boy spinning away soon!  It measures about 12 feet tall or higher?  Thank you for following along!

Cheers,

Trevor

Here is the first video documentation!

M E R R Y - G O - R O U N D (new heights)

I am over 7 feet and it is getting precarious!  I think I will be finishing off the top soon and posting final install photos... fingers crossed!

M E R R Y - G O - R O U N D (round two)

getting taller....

W O O D splitting 6.14.11

finger lock
back
ache
splinter
sore
swing
aim
ting
thud
drop
lift
adjust
numb
lock
mud
roll
bark
sore
sweat

M E R R Y- G O- R O U N D

Here are some shots for my first installation of this series.  Arteles is located in an old Finnish school (please see their website for some amazing performance videos from the 70s!) and as I walked around yesterday morning, I found myself drawn to the Merry-Go-Round/forgotten playground.  Maybe it is child hood nostalgia? Maybe just the simple playfulness of the form?  Anyway, these sculptures are an extension of the drawings and explore the relationships of people to land and each other here.  The wood piles become many different symbols depending on location and offer me an honest material that can be transformed daily.  This installation is more of a playful one and turns the wood pile into something absurd, childlike and dislocated.  Almost reclaiming the playground for itself.  There are many more incarnations to be so check back!
The process:
At first I ran into some interesting problems with peaking in the center and the wood wanting to slide off.  Building up the outside to always be pointing down and in seems to be the trick but definitely time consuming. I am learning that many of these projects I am working with really make me read the wood more closely than expected... or none of the tasks are as simple as they seem on the surface.  I am still building this one up but was unfortunately rained out today.  I will keep you posted with progress.

STUDIO 6.11.11 (chopping wood)

Though I am painting and sculpting wood piles, I am finding it necessary to understand the process first hand.  I have spent a few days and plan on many more splitting wood.  It is obviously strenuous but also locates me...  My muscles are adjusting, my hands are gaining strength and I am also finding this act meditative.  I have discovered it is not about simply hitting logs with an ax or wedge but more reading the grain, understanding what a knot is and how it will affect the split.  My goal is not to make interesting images or sculptures from an outsider perspective but to understand how one lives here, what is necessary to do so and use this as the foundation for my work.