Here are a few photos of my portion of the Responding to Darkness installation after the gallery windows have been uncovered and the cardboard shingles removed from the house.
Interestingly, it was only in the process of taking the work apart that I first got to see the paper mache objects situated within the unclad skeleton of the house.
I have to (gulp) admit that I feel the work has a stronger visual and emotional presence in this state than it had when it was in the actual show...
Sunday, May 17, 2009
More rocks with faces... by Michael St.Germain
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Installationfor Responding to Darkness... by Michael St.Germain
This is the work I made for Responding to Darknessat Atlantic Works Gallery in East Boston, MA .
The frame of the house measures 8.5 feet high, 6 feet wide and 6 feet deep and was generously constructed by Atlantic Works Gallery preparator George Kougeas.
When George finished framing, I shingled the structure with cardboard panels, dropped in a simple socket with a light bulb and populated the interior with paper mache objects.
Important Note:This exhibition is presented in the dark. Gallery lights are turned off and all gallery windows are boarded up with sheet rock from the inside.
From this point on, all photos in this posting were taken with a flash. All interior shots of the house were illuminated by a 60 watt bulb (which is a part of the work) and a camera flash.
The house's solitary opening is at chest level, measures about 2 feet square and faces the corner of the gallery. Again, the gallery is dark.
This opening gives visual access to the interior which is illuminated by a 60 watt light bulb. The photo above was taken by Paul Weiner.
Inside the house are six of the paper mache objects I made during the past eight months. The tallest object is 7.5 feet high.
Here are a couple of details of the interior taken from outside of the house.
I am in a three-person show opening on Friday, May 8 at Atlantic Works Gallery in East Boston, MA. The Friday 7pm-10pm reception is free and open to the public.
To see how the idea for Responding to Darkness came to be, click on the link.
Note: The image above is the postcard for the show.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
More rocks from my collection... by Michael St.Germain
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Rocks... by Michael St.Germain
For the past four years, I have been searching for stones which look like human, animal or abstract head forms.
This casual and arguably absurd undertaking involves a bit of heavy lifting, a bit of reading internet tide tables and a bit of luck.
Success depends on cultivating and maintaining a detached (yet receptive) awareness in the presence of thousands of football-sized stones. The good rocks are right in front of your eyes, you just have to see them... and lug them home.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Object
by Michael St.Germain
Here is a recent paper mache work: h=68", w=27", d=21".
