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[in]habit the [un]built The roughdraft house is a beginning exploration of concepts in art and architecture as a construct of the idea. Through the collection of different media, artifacts, and exhibition I’m seeking to tell a story of place. The individual is placed within a very intimate and personal sense of inhabitance within the realm of mind and imagination. Architecture is then within the context of the built and unbuilt environment. It seeks to be within both the realm of fantasy and this notion of reality. Similar is a work in fiction that’s deeply rooted in the context of non-fiction. That in order to understand [acknowledge] and entertain the idea in fiction, there is first a knowledge of the real [relatable]. By allowing the work to exist as separate entities in and of themselves and the collaboration of composition, the whole [book] tells a story of place [architecture] constructed in the mind. It is then personal to its reader that this place exists and is aware of its existence. Through this sense of intuition and exploration, the inhabitants entertain this idea of fantasy [desire] in dimension, geometry, scale, and construct. It manipulates the reader’s perception of architecture and place in the attempt that learning how to read [surrounding] constitutes awareness. This book is a composition of my undergraduate thesis study at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2011. Thanks to all faculty and colleagues for their criticism and support in the production of this work. © 2011 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Creator:
Patrick Ryan McGrath
Printed on acid-free and chlorine-free bleached paper.
i
the
roughdraft house.
an abstract construct: [in]habit the [un]built
by patrick ryan mcgrath
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to my mother’s father [grandaddy] who taught me the nature of my spirit_ opened my mind to the possibilities and value of work in life
contents
prologue.........................................vi the stream of conscious.........................001 american iconic and the persistence of memory...........................016 architecture is fragment........................020 inhabitance in imagination.....................................032 phases of construct.............................044 [un]built.......................................046 [in]habit.......................................056 manifestation [1st installation]..............................066 manifestation [2nd installation]..............................076 what happens in the desert......................086 epilogue........................................089 acknowledgements................................090
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Prologue influence: philosophy, history, science, [geometry] mathematics, literature, psychology, anatomy, nature, cosmology, spirituality. It is through these explorations and understandings that I find a basis for my work. That is, the work is apart of my nature and not a switch to turn on and off. The processes that lend themselves to experience and present allow me to create and work. Here, nature and time provide me perspective. When I begin a piece, it is considered that I am creating an anatomical construct. I do not consider it to be an imposition on the being, but rather a conversation between, sometimes an arguement, of its creation. The work speaks to me and allows for my interaction through different [mixed] media until it’s ready to leave the nest. Takes a life of its own. It’s only then that the idea is free. Early explorations with the roughdraft house, the initial idea planted itself as making an assemblage. The thesis would be upon the basis of [literally] collaging a building together. By extracting artifacts from existing subject matter in the historical built environment, architecture, as a fragment of man’s existence, would continue itself into new bodies/entities. Through the detail and exploration, it became clear that the journey I was on crucially developed into the construction of idea. It’s the rabbit hole to [in]habit the [un]built.
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13 x
14 001
15 002
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18 005
19 006
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44 031
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48 035
49 036
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phases of construct
writing
narrative. tells the story of place through imagery, description, and documentation of thoughts.
drawing
anatomical construct. the sense of scale is activated by geometry and layout. add/subtract layers, masks, and fragments build the density.
assemblage
metaphor. the built entity that places idea into a physical context for inhabitance. exploiting construct.
photograph
capture. this is the seed planted in memory. a perception of existence through moment.
044
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[un]built the autonomous body is placed into a physical context through the act of photography. it defines place pre/post inhabitance.
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[in]habit content and organism appear. the reader is left with a notion of place, that it exists through photography in some sense of time.
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manifestation [1st installation] early works in construct examining the nature of place through the spectrum of time. by creating and capturing a scene or moment, it is then acceptable to acknowledge its existence. these shifts across time give the mind and architecture place, where desire continuously considers and reconsiders the mechanism that generates scale, dimension, form, and construct. here, desire becomes the function and architecture program.
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manifestation [2nd installation] through the act of photography and abstract manipulation of its subject matter, the constructs hold onto a sense of ruin. it becomes more about the idea of the thing rather than the thing itself. this lends itself to the notion of preservation, but also continuation. by deteriorating the subject matter, the work ia a fragment of narrative. by extracting the content, the story is passed through generations and progresses, but only if the mind allows this manipulation of perception.
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what happens in the desert meant to be a criticism of the state of architecture, this is a critical analysis of architecture, not defining a specific in type, style, work, or definition of, but putting it in perspective. in the current state of architecture, very little [to nothing] is being built due to current economic and social issues in the world. in the roughdraft house, i’m attempting to examine the physical and this notion of architecture as an abstract construct. construction of the idea. that we understand through history, science, philosophy, [geometry] mathematics, and so forth a culmination of awareness and existence. the notion of inhabitance is not purely defined by the senses, and that the mind is responsible for packages of information that are/become experience and intuition. as architecture continues to be a fragment of man’s existence, it tells a story of place that redefines the built and unbuilt environment. then architecture may continue to define a fraction of process [nature and inhabitant] that ultimately must come into conact as intervention and contradiction. how we examine art and architecture is an existential and absurd process for creation. instead of considering the possibilities of what it is and could be, we give it the power to enslave over the power of desire. here, i’m attemptimg to develop a mechanism for desire through the manipulation of perception and thought. by adding/subtracting layers, masks, and content a new density [builds] emerges. open and no longer hidden within the mind, we have lost/found ourselves.
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Epilogue The artist responds to present time. Is truly aware of his/her surroundings and upon the concious consideration of existence, expresses through their life and work that I must create [respond]. Creation in any sense of the word, is sometimes the only validation for existence. To truly live and be free, that I may wander amd wonder about the perplexities of life, is retribution for my soul and spirit. I must continue to read and learn how to read. That intuition, influence, and experience are the basis for experimentation, exploration, exploitation, and manifestation in [life] the work. This is my understanding of making a living. That I may take time and never waste it. Get them hands dirty.
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Acknowledgements I would personally like to thank my primary advisor Clive Vorster for the conversations, wisdom, and insight shared in the development of my work. To my other advisor’s who shared their criticism and support of the work throughout my life as a student, I’m greatly appreciative. To those closest to me in friendship and family [you know who you are], may we continue to share collaborative efforts and goodtimes as we continue to live and breathe this. To my mother, father, and immediate family that I would not be here without, I love you. To those who have ever expressed interest in my work and made it a point to speak with me, get to know me, and expressed themselves as I do the same, gives me great enjoyment, may we continue this tradition together. To the many artists, architects, writers, photographers, musicians, filmakers, etc. who’s work I enjoy, respect, and roll off the tip of my tongue with rocommendation [I know who you are], may we continue to share influence, inspiration, and get to fucking work. ...and to the reader, thank you.
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