Environments, Situations, Spaces

I believe every object is an event and that every event has an object-like quality to it. I can observe this in my very own apartment. All of my objects have performed for me in some way. I have performed with the objects in someway and at some time as well. If one were to isolate their uses of kitchen utensils and lights switches, for example, the act of turning on the light or swirling the pasta with a fork becomes an 'event'. The "swirling of the pasta" is now a piece of art. The art work is essentially the art 'object'. Its an object of art, I believe, because there is an interaction with material.

The piece " Three Chair Events" I showed recently at the Martha Jackson Gallery for the Environments, Situations, Spaces exhibit, further illustrates my belief that art happens in every environment, situation and space. In order to fully convey my vision, I evaluated my apartment's interior belongings. I searched for objects that I interacted with on a daily level. Bed. Couch. Chair. Light switch. Spoon. Bowl. Microwave. Faucet. After I noted my interactions, I began to think about a public venue. I realized many of the items are for private use. However, the chair was the object that I was able to apply to any public space. It would illicit the most uninhibited interactions.

The different spaces of the gallery are different platforms for particular situations. For example, the entrance, where I wait to meet a friend... I wait and mind my own business, while I casually observe people walking by to pass the time. Once I greet my friend, we enter into the gallery 'space'. Our voices dim down and our focus becomes the pristine white walls, where the 'art' is displayed. The transition of environment defines different spaces and situations.

Since the work operated in multiple spaces, I decided to use three identical wooden chairs to unify the work. The different spaces I chose were spaces gallery visitors would enter. The exterior of the gallery at the entrance, the gallery interior, and the restroom were the three spaces I chose to place each chair individually. Though the chairs were identical in form, they varied in color. The chair propped outside the door was painted a creamy mustard. The chair in the gallery was painted an eggshell white. The chair in the restroom was painted a chalkboard black. The colors I applied to the chairs' surfaces serve to communicate their intended use. 

The sunny mustard yellow is welcoming and fitting for an outdoor chair. The same goes for the other two chairs. They are nothing out of the ordinary. They serve to illicit their everyday event. Everything from placement to the mellow paint, to the mass-produced, worn-down, wooden forms, resulted in gallery-goers using the chairs. And, as a result, the three wooden chairs conducted beautiful interactions with gallery visitors. The documented interactions with the three chairs became the "Three Chair Events".