Automatic Building

Stuttering is usually thought of in relation to the voice and one's inability to articulate properly. Though the stuttering I've been thinking about is a spatial one, whereby space falls out of place, staggers for an instant, gets stuck on a particular syllable. What appears in this "spatial stutter" is counter to proper articulation, and yet can be heard as an addition to speech: in the stutter one hears, and speaks, differently. Mapping the stutter onto architecture, this difference plays out in conversations in which the body and space incite each other into a fragmented choreography-of soft ruptures and multiple centers/ of asymmetrical construction and improvised building/ of jagged edges and other movements, as a kind of automatic gesture against the form of an existing building.

Taking found wood from around the location of the villa, set about to improvise a gestural construction in and against the existing space. To accentuate divides, create multiple views, complicate and supplement spatial volume with diagonals. In addition, four speakers were mounted throughout the building, amplifying a prepared audio work based on the manipulation of furniture.
Thanks to Laura Culpan and Christof Migone.
Automatic Building Installation presented in
a 15th century villa outside of Florence
June 2002
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Leaming from Seedbed
Standard Gallery
Chicago, Illinois April 27 - June 14, 2003

Learning from Seedbed Vito Acconci's 1972 project "Seedbed" performed the body by housing it under a constructed wooden ramp. Exhibited at Sonnabend, the ramp rose up from the gallery floor to end against a side wall, running approximately 22' wide, 16' long, and 2' high. Acconci occupied the space under the ramp three days every week, for a period of 8 hours, masturbating and speaking through a microphone connected to a speaker positioned inside the gallery. As Acconci stated, the work was an attempt to establish an "intimate" connection with visitors through fantasizing sexual relation-Acconci would speak to visitors as if they were lovers.
"Learning from Seedbed" restages Acconci's work by articulating the ramp as the main character. The ramp is replayed, though inverted, so rather than conceal a hidden body (and its desires) this ramp opens out onto the space of the gallery, inviting visitors to enter its interior, as a social space. In addition, four contact microphones were mounted on the ramp and turned up to a point of feedback, thereby creating a steady hum within the room amplified through two speakers. By walking on the ramp, tapping it, rolling on it, the feedback could be modulated, thus creating a kind of "musical" and interactive instrument. I thus hoped that the private act could be unfolded into a social performance.

Thanks to Michael McCaffrey, David Roman, Philip von Zweck, Eric Leonardson, and Sabrina Raaf.

"Seedbed's" performance occurs not only through its use of the body, but also through its reliance upon the ramp-the ramp can be understood to make possible the fantasized moment of intimacy through its operation of concealing Acconci the masturbator. Architecturally, the ramp creates a hidden space, embedded within the gallery as an anomaly, and yet acts as an "amplifier" for the desires of an individual body seeking its social partner.

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Transportation & Recycling (proposal to the mayor) is based on two features of the city of Curitiba, Brazil that contribute to the city's infrastructure as well as reflect a fantasy the city has of itself: transportation systems and recycling practices form a dual policy in promoting new urban planning as well as images of Curitiba as a "progressive" city. The two installations attempted to converse with the city and its urban plans by mirroring the city back to itself, slightly transformed.
Recycling Along with transportation, Curitiba has established a highly efficient recycling program: residents turn in recyclable goods for the exchange of fresh produce from local farmers. Such an exchange makes for an abundance of production, consumption and ultimate recycling. In reference to such process, a series of recordings was made with various participants. These recordings were produced by asking participants to walk around certain areas of the city while taking note of the sounds they heard. Recordings were then made of the participants reading their notes and then amplified through speakers mounted onto structures built in reference to the "garbage" racks found in the city upon which residents place their refuse. In this sense, sound was recycled from around the city and turned into a chorus of eccentric speech.
Transportation Curitiba is known for its unique bus system, which allows the transportation of its inhabitants across the city in roughly one hour. To identify such conscientiousness the city boasts a highly stylized design for its bus stops: black cylindrical tubes constructed out of metal and glass that stand roughly 20' wide, 70' long and 12' high. Passengers buy a ticket before entering the stations, and inside wait for the next bus onto which they enter directly from the tubes. The bus stations thus signify "transportation."
Many thanks to Tuca, Debora, Alex, Octavio, Margit, Jacques, Chico, Fernanda, Claudia, Tato, and Janete for all their involvement and help.
Constructing a parallel bus station in the gallery space, the installation functioned as a proposal for additional bus stations: these additional stations would be built alongside existing bus stations, though would contrast by being made as white rectangular structures. They would not so much offer access to buses but instead "transport" sounds from around the city. In this way, these additional bus stations would function as "static" repositories for the collecting and archiving of the sonic environment. For the final presentation, I worked with a group of students, making recordings around the city using only found objects. These sounds were amplified within the installation.

Transportation & Recycling (proposal to
the mayor) Ybakatu Espaco de Arte
Curitiba, Brazil Jan. 15-Feb. 15, 2003