Opening Night!

wires and lines - kristin haas

The first time I entered this space, I was intrigued by the mass of exposed cords, cables, wires and pipes. I followed many of these lines with my eye and found that most of the wires and cables were disconnected or unplugged. They were hanging there tangled and abandoned though visually their attractiveness engrossed me.

In response I have created my own lines – out of discarded maintenance materials and paint. The materials used in my installation speak about the space’s history of being transformed into something new so many times over. The work mimics the existing wiring and cords, though without the option for functionality. I have co-opted the form of these functional objects and transformed their purpose into an aesthetic experience.

annushka gisella peck - 'fauxchitecture' statement

“fauxchitecture”
lath, dimensional lumber, nails, steel cable and paint
annushka gisella peck
2008


“Junkspace is additive, layered and lightweight, not articulated in different parts but subdivided, quartered the way a carcass is torn apart - individual chunks severed from a universal condition.”

- Rem Koolhaas

Built space is layered with narratives; vast topographies of individual and collective experience that lie far beyond that which can be visually obtained or reassembled. The contemporary state of historical space - locally and globally – is in a period of rapid change, caught in the entropic catapult of ‘development.’ These changes to surface and structure will reveal, demolish and fragment the associated histories of such spaces. And at the same time, so too will these architectural shells of the once historically relevant and culturally important be quickly re-formatted, re-designed and re-built to suit the needs of contemporary clients and users.

The ease with which “important” space can become subsumed and devoured by its caretaking entity is not without consequence. Such progress often bears as fruit the erasure of traceable lineages, creating histories which are no longer easily recoverable. In addition to this erasure, ‘faux’ histories are also created through the restoration, renovation and cheap period approximation of built and re-built space, each harboring the aim of creating a ‘mood’ above all else. In essence, what ‘fauxchitecture’ repairs, it also destroys. While its surface offers the easy comfort of nostalgia, it exists in reality as a hollow form, nothing more than a transportable membrane, a façade of historical reification which multiplies, fragments and distorts our understanding and access to our personal and collective past, present and future.

Ice Harvest
Jennifer Bastian



The process of cooling and storing beer began and ended in the earth.

Communities came together once a year to cut and store giant blocks of ice in Ice Houses for the coming warm weather. Before refrigeration, this process was necessary to prevent the spoilage of food and drink in everyday life. The beer industry applied this process to their products, lining the numerous caves under the city with ice blocks that would keep the beer safe for drinking all summer long.

My interest in this process is twofold. I appreciate the ecological efficiency of the method of using ice, an element that is formed and dissolves in an endlessly repeating natural pattern. As this ice assists in preserving beer for domestic consumption, it also melts back into the earth and provides sustenance for the plant life growing above.

The harvesting of ice is also a brilliant example of the cyclical nature of community responsibility and growth, where a necessary process becomes symbolic of the passage of the seasons as well as preservation of a community’s foodstuffs. As industry and technology evolved, ice-boxes and refrigeration became a part of everyday life and present in individual homes.

Like many responsibilities relating to food and survival, ice harvesting is no longer a part of every community or individual’s life. We are able to maintain very little connection to the source of our conveniences. My own relationship to food, community and growth is one of choice and convenience. As my perspective on the world shifts, I find myself trying to make small changes in routine. If my faucet is dripping, I collect that water in a pan and use it to water my houseplants. In small ways I am trying to connect to a cycle of responsible actions that directly affects the visible world around me.

For this work, Ice Harvest, I have contracted a local ice company to deliver a block of ice to the building. This ice will be set on bricks, partially immersed in a pile of discarded brick and stone from the building’s walls. Local soil will rest on top of the base of brick and stone, and my houseplants will be nestled into these small mounds. The ice will melt within a matter of hours or days, either watering or drowning the surrounding plants. I will have to monitor and care for both the plants and ice, collecting water in teacups and bowls below, and dispersing it to the farthest plants.

A cycle of melting, absorption, and domestic nurture, this work will change based on the temperature and weather variables of the environment around it. The ability for these plants to survive will ultimately depend on the attention paid to them by the surrounding individuals and community.

from what fate and to what end

“Historical preservation” conjures many di!erent meanings, particularly with regard to the contemporary catch-phrase “neighborhood revitalization.” Gordon Matta Clark addressed associated issues in the 1970’s, performing ‘cuttings’ and film recordings around “objects to be destroyed,”preserving the last moments of a to-be-demolished buildings’ history.

In this project, I will draw on Matta Clark’s influence to create a piece that considers the contemporary condition of demolition,revitalization and preservation issues. My aim is to create a sculptural installation, a mash-up
of historical and contemporary built-spaces that examines decisions made to preserve or destroy, reify or ignore.

- Annushka Gisella Peck


some thoughts in image...

Max Estes: Remembrance / Replacement

(above) Original Blatz Beer bar sign

There was a time when the signs hanging above bars, pharmacies, cafes, restaurants, and bakeries in my neighborhood were made to last. These signs, regardless of the businesses they adorned, were imbued with pomp, personality, and pride. Such lively signage helped define my neighborhood, Milwaukee’s East side.

These ornate signs, like the fabled innocence of yesteryear, have become a thing of the past, replaced with practical plastic and vinyl signs The new sign has a shelf life, dictated by sales cycles, seasons, and fads. No longer do these signs hanging outside my window define my neighborhood.

Just as Milwaukee’s breweries replaced the forests that once lined the shores of Lake Michigan, condos and high rise towers have now replaced them. Conscious of this cycle, I chose to remake a bar sign in the style of yesteryear that acknowledged its mortality. My sign is not made of sheet metal, rivets, glass tubing, and weather resistant paint. My sign is made of plywood, craft glue, and water soluble paint. This sign is an homage to time past, a remake of something that was made to last, but has indelibly been replaced.




(above) remaking an original out of alternate materials

Installation, Saturday, April 26

The first delivery of my plants make it to the gallery...



Holli and Ashley survey the space



Holli's work



Ashley's soon-to-be-covered window



Looking through the almost-doorway





Holli tearing up materials for her installation







The beginnings of stenciling and installation by Brandon and Bill