CURLY FRY (20 photos of objects arranged in space)

 

 

C̶̛̛̪̹̹͍̥̣̘̯͒̽̋̈́͛̚Ǔ̵̧͎̠͓̤͇͖̬͛͗͋͐̚̕͠R̷̨͙͈̭̫̲̊͆͑̄̆̃̏͜͝ͅL̶̯̩͙̺̦̝̟̱̑̒͊̌̓͂͠͝Ỵ̵̢̫̈́̿̊̈͗͂͘͝    ̴̢̛̤̮͓̗̯̫͊̅͒͐̀͜͠͝F̷̨̘̩͉͖̮̭͛́̋̃̍͘̕͝ͅR̶̭͈̹͙̼͍̼̈͂͐̂̉̅́̀ͅY̸̡̨͖͉̱͍͚̘̍̍̓̽̀͗̓͘   

 

My somewhat ironic take on modern art, 

A.k.a, braving social anxiety and being a moderately strange occurrence in Andrew Commons.

 

For this assignment, I decided to stick with something really simple, as I still have yet to choose an idea for my final installation piece. I was puzzling about what object(s) I might incorporate when, of all things, the Andrew Commons dining experience offered sudden divine inspiration in the form of a mildly interesting curly fry. 

This curious shape is all one very long fry, curled round on itself in a round oblong shape crossing over so that it looks vaguely akin to as if someone wrapped wire around a potato in the shape of an X. Or something like that, I don't even know... There has to be a better way to describe this thing. But regardless, I just kind of thought it was neat. I always enjoy finding interest in random mundane objects, albeit usually in nature and not in greasy cafeteria food that tastes mediocre at best. I suppose that begs the question then, why would a similarly formed plant stem or the like (assuming such a thing were possible) be considered beautiful and not a fry? Both seem fairly unlikely occurrences, regardless of whether they were forged in the patterned randomness of weather and soil or the patterned randomness of oil in a deep fryer. 

In this exercise, I have attempted to arrange the fry in a space that draws attention to its uniqueness, without removing it from the ultimate context of a simple cafeteria. To do this, I arranged chairs entirely surrounding an empty table as a sort of physical frame for the table to form a stage. Upon that, the fry and the ketchup I had eaten the other fries with were placed upon a stack of two empty plates in the center of the table an a facsimile of a pedestal.

 

Once I had finished documenting the arrangement at the empty table, the fry was brought back to the table where I had been eating lunch with my friends. Here, no longer isolated in a careful frame but surrounded by other half-finished plates of food, the object of the fry on the stacked plates ceases to be "art" and returns to its sad existence as mediocre cafeteria food. Taking ordinary objects and elevating them to that art status by arranging them in particular ways in gallery spaces is far from a novel concept, but perhaps there is a reason that it still persists-- it's simply really fun to do! 

By this time, the fry had already gotten cold and I had given the rest of the ketchup to my partner, but I decided I should nonetheless eat it as not to waste food. 

 Behold: the process of destruction, as displayed in possibly the worst timelapse known to man.

And before you ask, no, the cold fry did not taste good. 

 (The photos below were added before I figured out how to make a gif, but Blogger wasn't letting me delete them... let's just say that they're there on purpose, shall we?)

10 Spaces

Area I: Calle Burstein Crossing

Passage and Communication  

This is the bridge that connects Colman Hall to the rest of campus. It is a portal which I and many students have crossed countless times, and to me it means joy in returning to a comfortable familiarity among friends. In the second photo, I wanted to capture a more melancholy side to it with the old flyers that have been destroyed by rain and wind. Normally, new flyers will be added to replace the old vacancies rather quickly, but I have not seen any new ones for about a week now. I look forward to one day placing some advertising for my own art show.

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Area II: Mudd Library shelves, 3rd floor

Enlightenment

 One small thing that I've always found interesting is the automatic lights on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Mudd Library. The light and dark areas tell a story of where people have been moving recently. An island of light indicates a space where students have been staying and studying, and as I wander the shelves my path is illuminated where it was often dark before. As they say, there's a metaphor in there somewhere.

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Area III: Side stairwell to Andrew Commons, 1st floor

Liminal Potential 

This stairwell feels very much like the perfect definition of a liminal space, both in the actual sense of it is transitional between other spaces, and that it fits the modern internet-based horror aesthetic with its bare concrete, cold lighting, and random chairs scattered. I was particularly drawn to the large empty space to the right of the base of the staircase since it seems so sad and empty. Frankly, that space seems to be underutilized in most architecture. I see a lot of potential in it and I think it would be interesting to do a final project there if I could get the permissions required.

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Area IV: Furniture arrangement in Colman lobby

Social Demarcation through Geometry

This is a space I was thinking about not as a potential spot for my installation, but instead I simply found inspiration in the ways in which furniture is arranged in a standard geometrical setup, three couches or chairs surrounding a small circular table creating a natural way for people to sit and congregate. However, this arrangement also forms groups of people that are disconnected from one another by the physical boundaries of the couches and chairs encouraging them to sit facing a particular way.

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Area V: Colman thrift store

 Chaotic Assortment

The thrift store is one of my favourite places on campus because not only is it free, but it offers a constantly shifting variety of stuff that inspires my creativity. Although much of the things here are not necessarily very useful or intact, I enjoy taking the broken things to use for materials in my own projects, or more often, simply add to my ever-growing fabric hoard. I like the concept of taking broken or unwanted things and reshaping them into something different, as well as the concept of taking things and leaving things in a similar way to the Colman thrift store, Little Free Libraries or geocaches. I think for my final installation I might want to do something interactive involving these concepts.

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Area VI: Colman courtyard

Enclosed green

I really like the appearance of this area, with the rectangle of bright grass surrounded by concrete squares with low benches and bright tables and chairs. Logistically, for my installation I do fear it is probably a bit too out of the way for people who don't live in Colman, but I do like how it is largely shielded from the wind while still sunny and open. I mainly chose it because, alongside simply liking the look of it, I remember a couple weekends ago when it was really nice outside my friends and I spent some time drawing with sidewalk chalk here. That got me thinking more about the idea of the viewer as participant in interactive installations and having people create art as part of an installation, particularly with something temporary like sidewalk chalk.

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Area VII: Pathways intersection outside of Ormsby and Steitz

Neutral Palette

This small patch of grass is the most meaningless space I found on campus, which is to say that it does not offer much in the way of context besides being outdoors adjacent to Main Hall Green. It might be a good place if I wanted a space that is frequently seen, although as with all the outdoor locations here I would need to take into consideration not only how to get permission to use the space but also if I did get permission, how to make my installation safe in potentially poor weather.

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Area VIII: Kaeyes Mamaceqtawuk Plaza

Light Central Space

Disclaimer: I know very little about architecture, but that does not stop me from having opinions on it. I have been known to say that I am not particularly fond of the architecture of Wriston nor the Mudd Library because I don't think they fit well with the style of the rest of campus. That said, I will never complain about a fountain, and I do think this plaza does well tying the two very different buildings together. In terms of an installation location though, I like this space because although it is nice and open and fairly frequently trafficked people don't tend to stay here very long, so it might be a good place to set up something more interactive without pulling a "Tilted Arc" (getting in the way too much and annoying people).

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 Area IX: Ice skating area in front of Ormsby

Indistinct Boundaries

 Out of all the spaces I photographed, this was one of the most difficult to capture. The boundaries of the space are not easily visible this time of year, but must be felt by physically walking across it. The only real delineation is a slight divot in the ground marking where it would be filled to make the ice rink in the winter months.

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Area X: Large tree on Main Hall Green

 Organic Space

 This space is even less well-defined than the previous, at least right now. I had always thought this tree was very elegant, and the idea of using it to create a space intrigued me. It does not fully exist right now, but once the tree leafs out I imagine a space would be created by the shadow underneath its canopy, a shifting area that can change or disappear with time and weather- similar to the flyers in area one.

Three Objects

 

Left to right: Monkey's fist knot (made by me), glass paperweight/clock (thrifted), hand-spun yarn composed of wool and dog fur blend (made by my brother) 

 Firstly, a monkey’s fist knot. Although it is woven around a foam center, it is still fairly heavy. People say these are illegal to tie, but I do not think that is true of the knot itself. Perhaps it once was forbidden, in the days when gangsters crafted crude bludgeoning weapons using metal or stone centers. I can believe that. Even my tamed iteration can hurt when swung.

Secondly, a glass paperweight, faceted like an obnoxiously oversized diamond. The clock in the center does not function, if indeed it ever did. It catches the sunlight bouncing a dozen tiny rainbows. Despite its beauty, it is still a mere office tool, given up to a Goodwill and sold for ten dollars.

Finally, perhaps the most curious item of all: hand-spun, home-spun yarn, spun from the wealth of many years summer sheds of a grumpy labrador by my younger brother in the suburbs of Chicago on a wheel painstakingly crafted for him by our dad. It is only twenty-five percent fibers from the dog, the other seventy-five from our aunt’s sheep in rural Indiana. It speaks to the creativity and determination of youth embracing old traditions even in new environments.