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These works are a hybrid of traditional and new media which include self-portraiture, interactive, and commentary.

These are new media works which include self-portraiture, interactive narratives and other explorations.

These are traditional media media works which include self-portraiture, commentary and abstract expression.

 

All content unless otherwise noted
copyright 1999-07 Andrew Y Ames.

Installation Art: Flux, 2004

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Statement

December 2004 I proposed a sight-specific installation to the Museum of Contemporary Art for their Biannual Exhibition entitled "Beyond Boundaries Beyond Comfort" that would play against the theme of “Beyond Comfort.” Everything in life and in art has a boundary, an amount of physical space that feels comfortable. I wish to expose and subvert this comfortable space. In a museum, visitors typically stand back and admire art from a distance, with limited interaction and constrained participation. My piece invites the viewer to come close and to look closely enough to become a part of the art that others see, to contribute a “graffiti” that unites observation and creation and challenges both participants and non-participants beyond familiar levels of comfort.

Concept

There are two concepts behind the piece: (1) Art on display is sacred: one stands before the work: the work behind glass is complete, finished, and not to be touched. It is separate and thus sacred, and transcendent. (2) Art during creation is immanent and profane: behind the work stands an artist who reveals a hidden self. The work behind the glass is being touched, and each touch changes the work, which remains unfinished. The merger of museum and studio, the sacred and profane spaces of art, creates a discomfort and new insight into the shared and competing horizons of artist and observer.

Physical Discription

The piece will consist of a plate of safety glass that is 96 inches high, 30 inches wide, and half inch thick, mounted 4 feet from the wall to the floor and supported by cable from above. Attached to the glass will be two clamps that will hold a sheet of Reeves BFK paper, 18 inches wide and 36 inches tall (to be replaced every two weeks), as well as a china marker so viewers can contribute. Propped against the wall behind the glass will be a portfolio containing the series of papers started by myself and finished by the viewers. To entice viewers to walk behind the piece, affixed to the wall will be the printed palindrome, “explorerolpxe,” which will be slightly obscured by the paper.