Structures – Info Page

Project Description

This project has yet to be named, Structures is purely a working title. With it, I plan to draw attention to the containers of advertising messages in public spaces by making art pieces out of their structures. In doing this, the message is omitted thereby exposing the structure beneath that is usually intended to be “invisible.” This strategy is meant to disempower the messengers by eliminating the message and turning their framework into art pieces. Metaphorically, the viewer’s gaze becomes directed at the strings that control the marionette rather than the marionette itself.

While the objects in this project reference the structures of public advertising, the experience of these pieces is not intended to be referential the way pictorial art is. Most advertising, which usually includes photography, serves to transport the viewer’s mind to another place and time. Advertising’s aim is to present the viewer with a better time and place to consider, implying that the current time is not as good as it should be. These pieces aim to keep the viewer’s minds in the present time and space by creating an experience rather than a referent. The pieces are meant to be phenomenological in that they are supposed to be experienced in person. They are about the object and the space in the present time, in contrast to photography which references another place in the past.

This spirit of the non-referential art piece is taken from the Minimalist movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. Although it is not a critical element of the project, I have referenced some of these artists in the work. Some references are strong while others are loose. There may be future pieces that don’t reference anyone. These references are intended to link the work to the movement most famous for this approach to art, as well as add a level of irony by juxtaposing the ultimate referent (advertising) with the people best known for rejecting the referent (the Minimalists).

All theory aside, these pieces are intended to be beautiful and interesting to look at as objects in a space. It is not essential that viewers understand the many layers of concept to enjoy the work.