DESIGN PROPOSAL
ALEX MISAR - LYTTON REID
NOVEMBER 6, 2009
MACHIENE IN THE GARDEN
Falling Ap - ART
STATEMENT OF INTENT
It is our goal is to create an art installation along the bank of the Willamette River at the South Waterfront that exemplifies the beauty of nature’s cycles and processes. This installation will chart the transformation of earth elements into and out of well-known object forms. We will mold objects, cast them with biodegradable materials, and observe them as natural processes, over time, return them to the earth.
BACKGROUND
The South Waterfront community (SoWa), in Portland, Oregon is situated on the bank of the Willamette River, overlooking the river and Ross Island. SoWa prides itself on its firm commitment to sustainable living. LEED certified buildings, eco-streets and roofs, exceptional public transportation and various other amenities push it to the top in community oriented, environmentally conscious, practices.
In an effort to attract new residents, the SoWa is portrayed as an upscale neighborhood wherein residents can live at ease in a sustainable, “eco-chic” lifestyle. Despite this portrayal and the environment that it represents, most SoWa residents are only sustainable by virtue of the place they live, not by their lifestyle, which is seemingly disconnected from nature.
Meanwhile, Ford motor company has made a compostable car and Guerilla bombers plant trees and flowers in baron landscapes! There is a connection to be made… a fusion of these efforts… grassroots meets corporate development. If the future is in our hands we need to decrease our impact on nature. Among many, one such method is the practice of creating and using fully sustainable products. This fully sustainable art piece is an attempt to build connections between SoWa residents and the natural world around them. Cradle-to-Cradle.
DESIGN PROPOSAL
The design will be comprised of a sequence of sculptures placed at an approved location on the South Waterfront property. The sculptures will be formed from a combination of raw materials such as clay, alfalfa, hay, or dung that can retain a temporary form. As the sculptures weather, seeds embedded within them will sprout, changing the sculptural forms, and attracting both wildlife and South Waterfront residents.
We will be creating these forms based on Susan Bell’s Dung Bunny recipe:
“Her solution is a set of wire mesh compost bins on her 2 1/2-acre Greenwood Village property. She fills the bins with horse manure and turns the mixture a couple times a year. After about two years, the compost is odor-free and ready for sculpting. Any longer and it’s like dirt, Bell says.
She takes the composted manure and deposits it in a cement mixer in her garage. She adds water to form a slurry and lets the mixture dry for a week. It’s then ready to be fitted into the molds.”
http://www.dungbunnies.com/images/bunnypages/ScratchBunnyL.htm
The sculptures will chart the evolution of man’s relationship to, and with, nature by creating an abstract timeline. The series of forms will transition from a school of salmon, representing the once thriving salmon habitat, to fish in a wheelbarrow, representing man’s manipulation of nature and the mystery of what is to come.
The eventual decomposition of these objects represents and aims to illustrate the oft forgotten and/or unrealized fact that both manufactured objects (the wheelbarrow) and living objects (the salmon) originate from nature. Ultimately, the installation seeks to inform people of the potential of constructing the things we use, like wheelbarrows or cars, out of compostable materials. The installation also records, in an abstract way, the different rates at which materials decompose. Everything eventually decomposes and is reconstituted, but how much time does each thing require? A salmon will return to dust in a year or less. The steel and rubber of a wheelbarrow may take centuries. But what if the wheelbarrow is made of dust?
For one year, or more, time-lapse photos will be taken to chart the life of the sculptures as they grow and decompose. These photos will be taken on a daily basis from a secure, onsite, camera.
WORKPLAN/TIMELINE
WEEK 1
Propose project to sculptor(s)
a. Contact a local artist(s) familiar with mold making
b. Purchase fish, wheelbarrow, seed, casting materials, etc.
c. Cast molds
d. Test materials for sculpture mass and surface treatment
e. Ask for permission to install sculptures along waterfront
WEEK 2
Determine what materials are needed to create the forms and begin sculpting
Also determine what materials are needed for time-lapse photos and purchase necessary tools.
WEEK 3
Finish Sculpting
a. Pour Forms
b. Add seeds
i. If seeds are not easily embedded in the sculptures holes may be drilled and filled with seed and soil.
WEEK 4
Installation
a. Site preparation
b. Installation of sculptures
c. Photo documentation
PNCA art student Jessie Weitzel is assisting us in contacting local students and professionals with a history in mold making. She is also providing consultation regarding molding.
BUDGET REQUIREMENTS
$100 Wheelbarrow
$50 Fish
$200-$500 Clay, Hay, Manure
$200-$500 Molding material
- $285 (AM 128 Pourable Silicone Rubber, 5 Gallon)
http://www.jgreer.com/silicone-mold-making.htm?gclid=CI6L_Ojh9Z0CFQgtawodDQUUqQ
$100 Seeds
$500-$1,500 Sculptor/Facility
$200-$400 Transportation
$100-$200 Incidentals
$100-400 Photo Equipment
Total $1,550-$3,450
WORKFLOW
All work will be evenly divided between both Alex and Lytton through out the entire production of this piece. This work will be conducted together and separately with specific tasks allocated as need be.
IMPEDIMENTS AND SOLUTIONS
This project is constructed upon the philosophy that unexpected changes will need to occur in the process of design and construction. It is our aim to minimize and plan for these changes.
The first possible impediment will be that of finding an experienced and capable sculptor to collaborate with. Once this has been achieved intensive planning must go into the creation of molds and final products. Due to the complexity of these designs it may be necessary to alter the appearance of the sculpture. We may need to abandon the fish or wheelbarrow in exchange for an easier to create or more stable statue.
The second possible impediment will be that of creating the forming material to our exact specifications. The material must be just the right consistency so as to retain form. This will be a process of trial and error.
The last impediment will be getting permission to display this work on the waterfront for a long period of time. Because it is the purpose of this installation to decompose and become a part of the site it may be difficult persuading owners, residents and developers alike to permit its installation.
IMPACT STATEMENT
It is the goal of this project to create a fully sustainable art piece on the South Waterfront in Portland in an effort to expose residents to natural processes and promote sustainable practices. It is anticipated that the transformation between constructed object and the subsequent earth/plants will serve as an appropriate metaphor of sustainability, renewal, and art. It is our hope that this might serve as a basis for subsequent work of the same sort in other communities.
