Sean Starowitz
Plywood Palaces
What are we truly trying do to with our art, and or architecture? What is our true idea of community? And more importantly, who holds authorship of these principles/objects? Through the use of http://plywoodpalacesroeland.blogspot.com/.
I want the residents of Roeland Park to post suggestions on the arrangement of the houses, and once a month I will change them according to a suggestion given. Beginning in May the houses will be changed on the last Sunday of every month. The suggestions could be a simple as a grid, or as elaborate as a local neighborhood layout. As an Artist, I believe in a true sense of community, and site specificity. This artwork is designed for Roeland Park, Kansas. It cannot exist without Roeland Park, but more importantly the residents. The language of New Genre Public Art is not about the object, but about the idea of community. Communities can be created and exist through art. The dialogue between the artist and the community is an important aspect and should always exist, but does not. I am amplifying this notion of site specificity and the dialogue that will take place. The work doesn’t change unless you want it to change.
Please Post Your Arrangement at http://plywoodpalacesroeland.blogspot.com/
I am currently a sophomore in the Kansas City Art Institute's Sculpture department. I am planning on graduating fall 2010, due to being an Art History double major. I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where my upbringing has influence me greatly. My Father makes a living as a residential house painter. The day in and day out labor of my fathers field of work has fermented an admiration for well crafted and designed architecture, while also understanding the effects of the opposite.
I came to the Art Institute for filmmaking but
through my education here I discovered the idea of "Sculpture". I
tend to create work that is very concept rooted, and poetically
driven. I have always wondered how to be a poet, filmmaker, and
architect, simultaneously; my experience here in the Midwest has
helped me realize through the perception of Sculpture I can be all
three. My work tends to be based on Architectural elements, mainly
the impression of the human body in space. I see my work going in a
very site specific/installation based direction. I do not like the
idea of object-based work, there is already too much of that in this
world. It's about image. Creating images that precede language, and
knowledge, a philosophy of sorts. The promotion of dialogue is an
important value to myself as an artist.