We Will Imagine: Interview with artists: Karen Stein, Ben Gaydos and Matthew Shanley

Check out FPAC interview with Fort Point artists: Karen Stein, Ben

Gaydos and Matthew Shanley. Their temporary public art

work, "We Will Imagine" will be installed this October for Open Studios.

FPAC: How did you decide to apply to the FPAC public art works call for artists? Have you done other public art projects before?

KBM: We all live and/or spend large amounts of time in the Fort Point area, engaging daily with its beauty and imperfections. It felt natural to want to make a mark on these surfaces. These two locations in particular seemed both crucially important to daily life, yet also lacking in brightness and spirit. We wanted to draw them out from their current existence, inviting people to see them for what they are and what they could be. By extension, we examine the entire neighborhood—what it is and what it could be.

The goodgood part of the crew (Karen and Ben) created a lighting installation on Congress Street this past winter for FPAC’s Winter Solstice series.

FPAC: What was the inspiration for your public art project?

KBM: We are quite interested in engaging communities through art and design. We try to find ways of using language and typography to pose questions and encourage discourse in our visual landscape.

FPAC: What role do you believe artists are responsible for portraying to the public regarding economic, aesthetic, environmental and social issues?

KBM: Is this a roundabout way of asking what’s going to happen to all this tape once the artwork comes down? Because we’re trying to come up with a good solution…(We are contacting local sculptors and fashion designers to see if they are interested in the remnants.)

Seriously though, artists are responsible to each of these issues and countless more. The creation of art is an act of questioning. Art can be about concrete notions and it can be about elusive emotions, but in our practice and creation there is always question and wonder.

FPAC: How do you think public art works temporary or permanent should be introduced to the community?.... often the dialogue is the most important relationship that needs to be considered? How have you created a dialogue with your work?

KBM: Ideally public art works are part of a much broader discussion, perhaps serving as a catalyst. In one sense, this work is very directly a dialog. A question called out from one side is answered by the other. But we hope that there is another level of dialog as well. We are thinking deeply about our neighborhood and community, and hope that this display invokes discussion amongst viewers on these issues.

FPAC: Do you think temporary works have a different impact on the viewer and how? How did take this into consideration regarding your work?

KBM: They certainly do. A permanent piece needs to be appealing and timeless. A temporary piece on the other hand can provoke. It can bring up tough questions, and those questions can be pertinent to that moment. Perhaps the question will no longer hold the same relevance ten years down the road, but in this time and place it is on our minds.

A temporary work can also address the ever-present sense of change in the world around us. Our neighborhoods are shifting and evolving, we are facing new challenges every day and our art needs to address this.

FPAC: The shift from "plop art", or public art work that has been just placed without taking consideration the surroundings, to site specific work has been a big change in the art world over the last 20/30 years, how did you decide the site for your work?

KBM: Both of these sites scream out for attention. Between and surrounding the fence and bridge are incredible examples of the architecture of the Fort Point, steeped in history and artistry. Neither the fence nor the bridge reflect this beauty.

We wanted to liven up these places. But we wanted to work with them and enhance them, not simply cover them over. And, we wanted to create a dialogue with the neighborhood. With the fence in particular that structure was paramount in determining the form of our creation.

The words took shape through the process of weaving the text through the fence. The fence and the material play off each other and feed into one another.

FPAC: Where did you get all of the material used for your public art work?

KBM: The magical world of the internet brought us boxes full of tape in all sorts of colors and shapes.

FPAC: how is your project being funded?

KBM: The Fort Point Arts Community applied for and received funding for the public art series from The Fund for The Arts, a public program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible by generous support from anonymous donors. Without this, the installation would not have been possible.

FPAC: How much did color and material play a role in your work?

KBM: To a large degree, the work is material color. The brightness of the tape enlivens these drab urban surfaces. The material of the site led directly to the form of the installation. The shape of the letter forms woven into the A Street fence are defined by the pattern of chain link.

FPAC: When will the final project be installed?

KBM: We’ll be installing along the A Street fence the last weekend in September. The piece along the Summer Street overpass might come slightly later, depending on getting final permission.

FPAC: How long have you lived in the Fort Point Channel?

KBM: Karen has lived here going on 2 years, and has worked here for more than 5 years. Ben has been working here for 2 years, and Matt going on one year. We are new-comers indeed, but we are also very passionate about this community, believing it is all our role to maintain the artistic fabric which already exists.

FPAC: Who or what are your biggest influences on your work?

KBM: Jim Henson, David Bowie, and the natural world. Stefan Sagmeister and Jenny Holzer, too.

FPAC: What can we look forward to in the future from you?

KBM: Many good[good] things.

FPAC: What role did each of you have in this project?

KBM: We’ve all collaborated on the entire project from conception to creation. The great thing about this project has been the way we’ve been able to work together as a group without worrying about defining roles.

Channeling Fort Point: Interview with Elisa Hamilton and Andrew Edman

Channeling Fort Point is a temporary public art project that will be installed in October in Fort Point Boston. To learn more check out past posts or go the FPAC website: www.fortpointarts.org

FPAC: How did you decide to apply to the Fpac public art works call for artists? Have you done other public art projects before?

Elisa: We've both been involved with public art in some form in the past, but this is our first collaborative effort. When the call for proposals first went out I immediately thought that it should be something that we should try to tackle together. Our artwork and ways of working are very different, but we both love a good challenge and knew that we could come up with an exciting combined vision.

FPAC: How did you choose the materials for your piece?

ANDREW: Material is always an important consideration, both for technical performance and conceptual content. We felt strongly about the particular materials we chose for this piece for both of those reasons.

ELISA: I think we may have even arrived at our materials before our concept was fully fleshed-out. We knew that we wanted to make a sculpture that really embodied the feeling of Fort Point. When we considered the rich history that Fort Point has as an industrial district, copper piping immediately came to mind as a possible material. Inherently practical and beautiful, we also love its linear quality and allusion to line. Wood, another common yet beautiful material, seemed like the perfect coupling.

FPAC: Do you think temporary works have a different impact on the viewer and how? How did take this into consideration regarding your work?

ANDREW: I think what temporary works offer is the chance to shift the environment and then restore it. By existing for a finite amount of time, temporary works have a built in lifespan, in which they can be seen and known only briefly. They don't have the chance to become completely familiar. They occupy public space as a modifier rather than a fixture, and I think that sort of deference to the existing environment is important when considering the makeup of a public artwork. They don't exist to be collected, owned or auctioned. They exist purely to be experienced.

FPAC: How have you created a community dialogue with your work?

ELISA: I hope that our piece makes people stop and stare and ponder; I hope it makes strangers look at each other and say "Hm, I wonder what that's all about" or "Hey, that's kind of cool" or "What the hell is that thing supposed to be anyway?". It doesn't really matter what people are saying as long as the piece is fostering discussion.

FPAC: When will the final project be installed?

ANDREW: The final project will be primarily constructed on site as it is so enmeshed with what is already there. We have been working with the copper and a partial full-scale mock-up off site to prepare.

ELISA: There's a certain thrill that comes with letting much of the creating happen on site. I was invited to paint a switch box in East Somerville last October and went to do it armed only with a couple small pencil sketches of the design and all of my materials. Looking back on it now I think that I probably should have been much better prepared, but I knew so strongly what I wanted to do; and I did it. This project is far more complicated than the switch box I painted, so we are doing a great deal of work ahead of time; but even so, I expect much of the magic to happen right there on Summer Street as we put all the pieces- both in our minds and physically- together.

FPAC: Who or what are your greatest influences?

ANDREW: I think our influences are fairly divergent, but it makes the process of working together more interesting. There's tension that emerges from the differences in our worldview but it leads to the creation of something that is apart from what either of us would make independently, even if those works were to be combined. The primary influence on my artistic practice is the area I grew up, in rural Minnesota. There's a very utilitarian and customized approach to building and repair, which I think has carried through to the considerations I make in sculptural work.

ELISA: Historically I've been a primarily two-dimensional artist, so this way of working is very exhilarating to me. Color, movement, and line are an essential element in all of the art that I make and I expect that Channeling Fort Point will be no exception. I think that when the sculpture is complete, from across the street it's going to look a hell of alot like a drawing!

FPAC: What can we look forward to in the future from you?

ELISA: I'm not sure what's ahead for us; I guess we'll just going to keep working hard and see what happens. And depending on whether or not we kill each other while trying to install Channeling Fort Point, perhaps more collaborative projects are on the horizon.

yummy yummy in my tummy...and in the mail?

On October 2. 2010 the Fort Point Community will be engulfed with everything yummy and local! The first ever Boston Local Food Festival will be held right outside the Children's Museum on Congress Street. While you are salivating over all of the amazing possibilities for your taste buds to enjoy, savor this:

Call for Art! You are invited to participate in a mail art project for the Boston Local Food Festival. Postcards can be picked up in the Fort Point neighborhood or send an email to with your address to receive a blank postcard. Postcards will be on display on October 2, 2010 at the Boston Local Food Festival and at a local gallery after the festival. Thank you and look forward! ~Krina Patel

to learn more about Krina and her project check out: www.stiramemory.blogspot.com

Interview With Tim Murdoch: Tidal Flowers

Tidal Flowers is a temporary public art project that will be installed in October in Fort Point Boston. To learn more check out past posts or go the FPAC website: www.fortpointarts.org

FPAC: How did you decide to apply to the fpac public art works call for artists? Have you done other public art projects before?

TM: I applied because I thought it would be a challenge to use the

tide in a sculptural installation. My first public art piece, outside of an, academic setting was in the empty storefront windows across from the Ritz on Avery Street. I did a kinetic installation composed of 40 carved wooden fingers mounted on suction cups attached to the inside of the windows. I placed a motionsensor above the sidewalk and as people walked by, the fingers would begin to tap on the window. I really liked the interactions I had with the people as I was working on the project. It took a couple of weeks to install so there was lots of explaining to people in the area about what I was doing.

FPAC: Very Cool! I am sure people were surprised as they walked by.

FPAC: What was the inspiration for Tidal Flowers? You had spoke of the recent oil spill as well as the great pacific garbage patch. Is other artwork that you produce about environmental issues?

TM: The first inspiration was from the movement of the tides and somehow using that as a function of the piece. As I paid more attention to the meaning of the work, the health of oceans, the “garbage patch”, and the oil spill all came together to define the piece. All of my work isn’t necessarily about the environment. I use a lot of recycled material because I like the history it contains. It’s an easy starting point for the work. But I don’t exclusively use recycled material. It depends on the idea and what it needs.

FPAC: What role do you believe artists are responsible for portraying to the public regarding economic, environmental and social issues.

TM: Artists have a great capacity for calling attention to these issues. I wouldn’t however call it a responsibility. Artists express themselves in unique and individual ways. To place the burden of politics and social trends upon the shoulders of artists is a sure way to destroy Art.

FPAC: There is quote from Dialogues in Public Art: " Just as architects were demonized as the destroyers of the city, artists were unrealistically asked to salvage it" (Tom Finkelpearl, P. 21.) ~In response to the striped down modern, city, metropolis designs that had taken over public building in the late 1950's. There was no dialouge between community and architect and ultimately the community felt left out. Artists were introduced to "save the day" by constructing art in public places.

FPAC: how do you think public art works temporary or permanent should be introduced to the community?.... often the dialogue is the most important relationship that needs to be considered? How have you created a dialogue with your work?

TM: My work poses more questions than it does answers. This in itself creates a dialogue. I feel that there is an openness in my work that invites viewers to express their opinions or curiosities. When successful, my work should function as a catalyst for debate and conversation.

FPAC: The shift from "plop art", or public art work that has been just placed without taking consideration the surroundings, to site specific work has been a big change in the art world over the last 20/30 years, how did you decide that the channel was a suitable site for your work?

TM: The site was the origin of this work. Because this is an annual commission and the location is already in place it wasn’t me making the decision of location. The most obvious fact of this site and what makes it unique is the tidal change. For me to ignore this would be like giving up the best opportunity the site has to offer.

FPAC: Where did you get all of the material used for your public art work?

TM: Casella Waste Management in Charlestown as well as local residents. Casella recycles for the city of Boston. Through Heidi Burbidge of the BRA I was able to get a 1400lb bale of crushed colored plastics. With the help of a couple of studio assistants I cut and cleaned all the bottles.

FPAC: how is your project being funded?

TM: Friends of Fort Point Channel is the main sponsor. I also got a small grant from the University of Rhode Island, Visual Arts Sea Grant.

FPAC: Where are you building these massive flowers?

TM: The folks over at Midway Studios were kind enough to let me use an empty studio for the duration of the project.

FPAC: How long have you lived in the Fort Point Channel?

TM: Since 1991

FPAC: Who or what are your biggest influences on your work?

TM: I tend to be influenced by things that peak my curiosity. I like to experiment and ask “What If “ a lot.

FPAC: What can we look forward to in the future from you?

TM: Currently I’m installing a two-person show with Heidi Kayser in The Schiltkamp Gallery at Clark University in Worcester Sept 20 – November 28th. I’m also installing a commissioned piece that I’ve been working on for the past year at Mass Art. It will be on view in the new campus center on Longwood Ave for the next 2 years. I’m a finalist for two other projects that I’ll find out about in the next month.

More pics from Tim Murdoch's Project: Tidal Flowers