BOYLSTON STREET GALLERY BLURRING THE LINES BETWEEN ART, ARCHITECTURE AND SITE
Final Model at 1/8”=1’-0” (Roofs on)
Final Model at 1/8”=1’-0” (Roofs removed)
Robert Smithson
Tara Donovan
John Chamberlain
Map of Broken Glass
Transparent Film
Privet
Visitors circulate the site, descending and emerging from a dream-world... Entering from Boylston Street, visitors
Second they enter the viewing room for
first encounter Chamberlain’s Privet and
Donovan’s Transparent film. The room is
walk along its downward sloping path
at 6 feet below grade, following the slope of the site.
Visitors then descend another 6
Finally, visitors return to ground level to
feet to a room in which Smithson’s
view Broken Glass from benches in the shape
Map of Broken Glass sits atop a
of continents around Atlantis (the broken
skylight
glass forms Atlantis)
BLUR SITE, ART, AND ARCHITECTURE
Donovan’s Transparent Film acts as a window through which to view Chamberlain’s Privet
Chamberlain’s Privet works as a hedge to delineate space and direct circulation
Each piece is used as an architectural Smithson’s Map of Broken Glass is a skylight so that the visitor can view it from below and bask in it’s light.
feature.
Form... Move away from the “white box� gallery Curvilinear forms make edges indistinguishable
MATERIALITY
SITE... Asphalt
SITE... Chain Link
SITE... Model of Materiality
Materials from the site were reused in organically shaped structures. This mimicked the way each art piece transformed an industrial material into fluid and natural shapes.
LIGHT
Each art piece had a degree of transparency and therefore was placed in an optimal orientation to the sun.
Light streams through Donovan’s Transparent Film into its dark curvalinear viewing room. The light would dance across the floor throughout the day and year.
Placing Smithson’s Map of Broken Glass above a skylight gives the viewer a new perspective. The light entering the room through the piece would cause the room to change throughout the day and year.
Chamberlain’s Privet is oriented on a North-South axis. In the morning, benches on the west side are striped with shadow. In the evening, the walkway east of the piece is striped in shadow.
WHAT I LEARNED
• Choosing a material early on can be a challenge • Collage is a useful technique for perspectives • Struggle often leads to a more successful end result • To stand up for my ideas and work to convince others of their value through visual and verbal means
WITH FURTHER INVESTIGATION
• Put more thought into the placement of Chamberlain’s Privet • Try making the model out of plaster, or better yet, asphalt • Research how the structure would actually be built in asphalt (or covered in asphalt with an underlying structure)