Final Project Proposal Ideas 2(: Electric Boogaloo)

I had another monumental idea ;)
Inspired by the re-worked, anarchitectural building designs of Gordon Matta-Clark

I thought it would be cool to use an entire building as a work of art. Instead of chopping it up to make a comment on architecture, though- i would like to make a comment on perhaps a different kind of universal human concern.

I was thinking about impermanence and perhaps the environment. I found an amazing collection of photographs of old, overgrown houses by James D. Griffioen. I have always been intrigued by these houses whenever I see them- but it was a fantastic idea to collect them so thoughtfully. He calls this series "Feral Houses"

Anyway, I thought that maybe a building or structure could be constructed with the intention of watching it slowly corrode over time. It would be interesting to watch a man-made structure be reclaimed by nature over the course of multiple generations. part of the project would be to photograph the gradual dilapidation of the structure and also to maintain and upkeep the area surrounding it; a contrasting surrounding environment of well groomed gardens and sturdy, clean buildings would make the project especially interesting. There is a conceptual element of randomness built into the project in both the unpredictable nature in which the land and plants will reclaim the building, and also in the unpredictable way in which society will grow or shrink or utilize the surrounding land. It's an exciting idea to me that I would like to maybe explore in my final project for this class.

Final Project Proposal Ideas

So one of my ideas for an improbable monument is to make an image of massive scale on the ground. I was inspired by the Nazca lines in the high Peruvian plains. Believed to be around 1,500 years old- they weren't discovered until the 1930's when researchers were able to view them from airplanes. These line drawings on the ground resemble various animals and from the ground are almost invisible; they look like little more than winding paths. They only start to become visible from a height of at least 300 feet in the air (or more). This idea appeals to me for several reasons. For one thing: I'm coming from a more traditional art background of drawing and painting, so I could more easily use my talents in drawing to apply to this unique project. Another reason is that I have always loved those ancient Nazca lines- they are beautiful, mysterious and technologically impressive considering that they were developed by a primitive culture by the standards of western civilization at the time, yet they have managed to last for several centuries- and remained undiscovered for over a thousand years. Finally, the concept makes for a perfect fit in the improbable monument project- considering that the lines have lasted for so long, and the unique idea of only being visible from an unusual perspective. The original line drawings are over 600 feet across, so they would be a good fit in a large public park, like Golden Gate Park, or maybe a large golf course or even a nature preserve. I haven't yet figured out what I would make the image of (a monument to what??) but as a general concept- I think this is a pretty strong idea to work from.

Google Earth: Occupy San Francisco Tour

We decided to document the visual communications of our city's Occupy Wallstreet movement through the imagery of protesters' signs. Revolutionary/activist art has a rich history in both the US and abroad- and San Francisco has one of the most active population of political activists in the world. Take a look at the tour that Gregg and I photographed and then edited in Google Earth: