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Development, 13 x 12 x 5ʼ, ceramic, 2x4s, plywood, pallets, 2010
Development, sited at Baltimore Clayworks, denies the context of the gallery by framing out the space with plywood and 2x4s. This denial mimics the tendency of developers to construct new projects without taking into consideration the ethos of a neighborhood. The viewer enters this representation of a construction site observing both a cityscape in miniature and a series of bollards. The cityscape is located on a work table, inviting the viewer to be their own urban planner navigating issues of red lining and eminent domain. The bollards are placed on top of deconstructed pallets including the development projects of inner city harbors in the master plan of cities.
Gail Heidel
Development, 13 x 12 x 5ʼ, ceramic, 2x4s, plywood, pallets, 2010
Development, sited at Baltimore Clayworks, denies the context of the gallery by framing out the space with plywood and 2x4s. This denial mimics the tendency of developers to construct new projects without taking into consideration the ethos of a neighborhood. The viewer enters this representation of a construction site observing both a cityscape in miniature and a series of bollards. The cityscape is located on a work table, inviting the viewer to be their own urban planner navigating issues of red lining and eminent domain. The bollards are placed on top of deconstructed pallets including the development projects of inner city harbors in the master plan of cities.
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Website: http://www.gailheidel.com
The built environment and the urban planning strategies designed to navigate these spaces influence my art practice. The conceptual foundation for my work focuses on how the contemporary condition of interconnectivity found in labor, commerce, and the agency of the individual affects this environment. To address this concept, I create research based site-specific installations. These installations are comprised of an architectural vocabulary with a minimal aesthetic and are fabricated from common building materials. My construction process is labor intensive and repetitive echoing the mass production of buildings and consumer products. I investigate issues that arise in cities such as urban development projects, public domain, red lining, sprawl, and subdivision of land. I also address suggested solutions such as master plans and pattern languages. My work is a metaphor for a city in flux that can be interconnected, but also be moved, stacked, and piled rather than mortared together. I loosely define my intentions for the outcome of an installation and then allow an emergent aspect to develop. I allow for the viewer to feel a sense of agency that is sometimes missing in the built environment by inviting them to help install on site, enter a construction site or reorganize an installation.
Categories: Urban, Sculpture, Installation / Site Specific, Contemporary / Modern, Conceptual, Ceramics, Visual Arts
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