Conceptual Projection (BLA Thesis)

8/14/2019 Conceptual Projection (BLA Thesis)

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Re: Conceptual Projecon

Michael Bia Light

A Thesis Study in The University of Idaho BLA Senior Studio, Spring 2009, Advisor: Professor Elizabeth Gra


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Contents

Case Study Recap

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Introducon

Installaon

Viewig Stage

Projecon

Layut

Conceptualizaon

At Mvemet

Saceess f Sils

Arst Inspiraon

Temay Wks

Cale t Cale

Event Result

Conclusion

Bibliography

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vi

vii

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Case Study Recap

The Tt Music Gae is cetalie the

imtace f a meaigful ccet i esig. My gal was

t shwcase a successful lascae esige ject that

taye a uelyig ccet. Y-Y Ma ha a esie t

tu a musical iece it a metahical gae. This was his

ccet a this was his assi. I chse Y-Ys billiace

because it was a successfully built gae that islaye

disncve elements seen in a landscape architecture project.

However, instead of celebrang the aesthec beauty of the

nal product, I focused more on conceptualizaon in landscape

achitectue.

This case study broadened my perspecve to diverse

ces f lascae achitectue. I leae hw the whle

process of a project is more important than the nal product.

I discovered how expanding ones mind to think from dierent

percepons can lead to excing ideas and designs. The music

garden is essenally about creang a concept and seeing it

through the nished project. This theory of conceptual art

a the imtace f cess lea me it the ialect f my

thesis.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to recognize my advisor, Elizabeth Gra, for her

passionate interest on Land Art in relaon to Landscape

Achitectue. Thak yu f helig make this sei thesis

hae.

Thak yu Jh a Miaa Aes; ety

owners of the thesis applicaon site, and College of Art and

Achitectue faculty membes at the Uivesity f Iah. This

wul have bee imssible withut yu ethusiasm a

posivity.

To Abigail Frank, my inspiraon, and the best damn

creave assistant. To install a simple, temporary projecon is

e thig. Hweve, the cmlex cess that ges it such a

work is a whole other story. Without you Abby, I would sll be

lst i the eless ieas a eseach I cme u. We mae it

hae. T me, its all thaks t yu.

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Foreword

Ulike usual staas, this bk begis with evealig

the concept and nal design. Tradional forms of senior theses

in landscape architecture celebrate the build up to a nal

product. I however, am celebrang concept and process. This

bk is lai ut i a habitual fmat. It begis with the

resulng product and works backwards. The purpose of this

layout is to provide the reader with dierent percepon.

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InTrodUCTIon 1

Introducon

Installaon: a work of landscape art that is installed temporarily

to transform a specic site. In One Place Aer Another, Miwon

Kwon denes site-specic art as incorporat[ing] the physical

condions of a parcular locaon as integral to the producon,

presentaon, and recepon of art. (1)

The process of my thesis began with a realizaon.

I saw the abae gai elevat stuctue 6th a

Jacks i Mscw, Iah, a was immeiately aw t its

massive beauty and locaonal identy. From there I explored

ccet a iea. I alie kwlege fm my case stuy a

alternave research and started brainstorming what I could do

with this site. I s iscvee that thee was a futue la

for these abandoned silos. 48 hours from total demolion,

the silos were saved and currently have a prospecve future.

An ownership commiee looks ahead to renovate the grain

elevator into mul-use residenal, retail and oce space. The

ext ste f gessi wet t extesive eseach whee

I found inspiraon from various arst elds. I gathered an

abundance of informaon and began merging my ideas into

e meaigful ccet.

My missi statemet begis with the esie t make ele

awae f thei suuigs. The gal is t esig a ealie

a site-specic landscape art installaon inspired by monolithic

stuctue, whee the lcal a cultual ic that is the gai

project images thatare conducive to re-thinking vernacularelements of thelandscape


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InTrodUCTIon4

elevat seves as a itegal istumet.

It is imtat f me t maitai the theme f bigig it

back t the la. Thus, the ccet f my thesis celebates

re two alphabecal leers providing a dierent meaning

to the word which they precede. Specically, the idea is to use

the Jacks St. gai elevats ccete suface as a thee-

imesial scee t ject images that ae cucive te-thikig veacula elemets f the lascae. Tgethe,

the installaon and the silos will funcon as a shared cultural

exeiece a will becme smethig well bey the

intenon of their original purpose.

2

Right: visual illustration displaying the

projection size and overall scene for the

installation.

Below: visual illustration of the viewing stage

and surrounding area.


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InSTALLATIon 5

Installaon

For the rst essenal piece of my installaon, I took to the

steets with a sig. Abut e mth befe the actual shw,

I stood at the intersecon of 6th and Jackson holding a sign

that ea: WHAT do THE SILoS MEAn To YoU? The gal was

to challenge people to begin re-thinking about the nave

landscape surrounding us. I was not protesng or surveying.

I was simply pung myself in the open public smulang

eles mis. This exeimet hele with my esig cess

because I found excing, real answers. I discovered that, to

sme ele, the sils mea smethig me tha just gai

stage.

F my wk, I wate t ivlve the gai elevat as a

essenal implement without physically working on it. Projecng

images on to the authenc concrete surface is how this is

achieved. As my installaon was a one night only event, it is

important for me to immerse users into the raw, exisng site

and experience it as is. Aer disnguishing the projecon, I

needed to nd a way for viewers to feel comfortable in the

exisng, dirty site.

Viewing Stage

Part of my installaon includes a viewing plaorm

mae f cushe caba. Cugate caba is the

efect cmet because it was a eveyay, eaily

Above: images from sign holding day


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InSTALLATIon6

Above: process of making the sign


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InSTALLATIon 7

available uct that ca be secue it the gu.

Caba was chse because it ca be fu aywhee;

whethe i umstes, ecycle bis, stacke behi shig

centres. Compared to milk jugs, boles, n cans, plasc bags

a the ecyclable gabage mateial, caba ca be

easily aened into a comfortable surface. The important thing

is that I will euse this uct s that it maitais its igialfm a quality. Althugh caba is the mai mateial, I

evisi ele eteig the site a eusig its cuet fm

as way of nding comfort for my show. Some would transform

milk crates into easy seang. Others would see a stack of

plywood boxes as theatre seang. One or two or more would

simply stand during the presentaonstaring upward at the

mlithic stuctue. Maybe sme ele wul be bave

eugh t sit the ugh, ity gu a e-thik what this

landscape could become if reused. Or, as menoned already,

caba fu site cul be use t ceate a lage ug f

viewes.

Above: viewers on the cardboard stage

Bottom Left: image projected onto the silo

Bottom Right: awaiting dusk and testing the

projection


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InSTALLATIon8

Projecon

A imay cmet f my ccet is t challege eles

minds by projecng images of re-thinking the systems of

our land. The projected slideshow will be a collaborave of

numerous messages. Part of my work is visual appeal. I nd

that images ca each ele i ways ws cat. Thus, theslideshow includes real life photographs; visual illustraons;

a clea ws. The htgahs islay stg cl. Clea,

visual appearance is very important when projecng onto

a rusc-concrete surface. Some photographs celebrate the

exisng scene of the silos on 6th and Jackson. For these

specic pictures, we shot as much of the raw site as we could;

highlighng its exisng beauty. Other images display a global

view of abandoned industrial structures. The visual illustraons

present my interpretaon of words from McDonoughs and

Baugats Cale t Cale, which I will exle late i this

text. Briey, the illustraons portray posive visions of what

u wl cul becme.

Altogether, the projecon will be supported by musical

backgu. The eas f icluig music is meat t vie

seeity, calmess, secuity a haiess.

Layout

The site layout of my installaon is formed from my

desire to promote awareness. I menoned the importance of

bigig uses it the aw site. With that, I exle feasibility

studies; analyzing mulple areas and structure surfaces for my

installaon. The performance takes place in the front yard of

the site. This is the best feasible aea because it is mst visible

t bystaes a is the safest. pakig is easily accessible a

pedestrian circulaon will not concern any constraints. Overall,

Above: schematic layout of viewing stage and

main circulation access points.

Below: site analysis plan displaying existing

conditions.


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InSTALLATIon

the installaon layout is simple, feasible and non-destrucve to

the site.

The fllwig ages ae use t illustate a samle

of pieces from the actual projecon. The next chapter leaves

the nal product dialect and discusses conceptualizaon its

imtace a its cess i this ject.Below: circulation map illustrating all

possible access points into the site.

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what might the huma-built w lklike if a chey tee ha uce it?


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what if ew builigs imitate tees?providing nutrion, energy, and habitat.

what if we uce me eegy tha we csume?


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ConCEpTUALIzATIon 15

Conceptualizaon

The gal f this thesis stuy is t e-exle

conceptualizaon in landscape architecture. Essenally,

concept is the rst step to creang ones work and is the most

imtat asect f es wk. Lascae achitectue uses

the tem ccet la i elacemet f what is aiately

called a schemac plan. My argument against concept plan

is that its not a concept, its a schemac. The concept is the

arsts main, strong statement. Formed by idea generaon,

concept is the big ideaconnecng directly to everything

done during a works process. Schemac is a plan represenng

program elements such as layout and circulaon. Although this

misinterpretaon may appear as lile importance, it can lead

t a geat lack f stegth i es wk. The imtace f

creang a clear idea is that concept gives meaning to things.

Istea f just givig the viewe smethig ice t lk at,

concept lls that missing piece and strengthens ones nal

uct.

Parcularly in landscape architecture, conceptualizaonis the fuig hase f esig evelmet. As leae fm

Julie Mi Messevy, the cess f ay ject is itegal t the

nal product. All quesons and decisions made during design

evelmet must aswe back t the e clea, visiay

ccet.

This chate exles my cess f eseach. Iclue

are discussions on art movements, specic arsts, sacred

Above: preliminary sketch of a grand piano

inside a hallow grain silo.


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ConCEpTUALIzATIon16

saces, temay wks, a ew begiigsall at f my

inspiraon.

Art Movement

The minimalisc art movements of the 1960s and early 1970sopened the oodgates to endless possibilies. Arsts began

seeing beyond societal and polical boundaries and produced

new movements. Through inspiraon from these movements,

I came to the idea of interpreng the vernacular landscape via

Below: diagram of related art movements.

Exploring relationship to landscape

architectural conceptualization, design process,

materiality, and experience.

conceptualizaon isthe founding phase fordesign development.


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installaon. Within two decades, arsts explored new forms

fm extemely cmlex wk t uely simle wk. Begiig

with the uge t iscect fm abstact exessiism,

minimalism was the true foundaon to the ensuing movements

of conceptual art, installaon art, land art, and site-specic

art. Other inuencing groups were Cubism, De-Sjl, and

evimetal at. This bigs the visi f gai elevats asat athe tha agicultual stuctues.

Sacredness of Silos

In Grain Elevators, Lisa Mahar-Keplinger poecally announces

that may sils aea as catheals. At the tu f the cetuy,

European architects Erich Mendelsohn and Le Corbusier rst

noced grain silos as a form of art. Following this, American

arsts and designers began studying beyond these industrial

bjects a ite ut the cecteess f sils a

landscape. By the 1920s, arsts were inuenced by Cubism

aw t beakig w bjects it gemetic shaes a

reassembling the object in an abstracted form. In 1931, Charles

Sheele aite his Classic Lascae iece which celebate

the tgetheess f the gai elevat a its immeiate

suuig lascae. Whe the Geat deessi hit i the

mid-1930s, photographers hit the main stage. The icon of the

grain silo was then seen as a recording of social maer and

human struggle. In other words, the elevator at this me was

use t exse the lives f the ele wh use them. Jumig

ahead to the 1960s, Aldo Rossi noted that grain elevators can

be seen as represenng a way of life collecng memories of

a certain place. By the mid 1970s to the present day, grain

Top and Bottom Right: images of abandoned

silos from Becher & Bernds Grain Elevators.


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ConCEpTUALIzATIon18

elevators have shown age and are most oen considered as

signs of abandonment. Austrian arst, Walter Pichler, illustrates

i his awig f e-usig sils that they ae sace bjects

portraying an inmate connecon to Mother Nature and lifes

aily custms. Gai elevats symblie catheals because

f thei hysical massiveess velkig the suuig

veacula lascae. I a eligius ctext, catheals act asplaces of gathering, and sacredness symbolizing the relaon

t aily lifestyle a eligius beliefs. Similaily, gai elevats

als act as laces f gatheig a saceess symbliig the

relaon to industry, landscape, and people. Keplinger states

that arsts working with silos have successfully reminded us

that the honesty and simplicity of these vernacular structures

connue to teach and to inspire (Keplinger, 8). This teaching

and movaon relates to the Jackson St silos because people

wee isie t euse the cultual stuctue as ew hme

while maitaiig its sace sace.

As menoned previously, my inial draw arose

from the ambion to make people more conscious of their

surroundings. The best way to elaborate on this intuion is to

acknowledge arsts who put the above awareness into their

wk.

Arst Inspiraon

Impermanence is part of the beauty (Christo and

Jeanne-Claude Ocial Website, 2009). Christo and Jeanne-

Claue exess thei wk thugh lage scale temay

outdoor installaons. Their work is inspiring because it

displays powerful concept, process, and aesthec beauty. The

art is minimalcompletely wrapping exisng structures or

lascaes with fabic t islay a statemet that thig is

many silos appear ascathedrals.

Below: Christo and Jeanne-Claudes Umbrellas

(2009, ofcial website.)


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permanent. De-installaon plays a major part of their work. The

goal is to leave the applicaon site exactly how it was when the

arsts began working on the site. In other words, restore and

etu the la. Fm stuyig this cules wk, I was isie

t ceate a meaigful ccet f my w use.

Maya Li stesses the imtace f essiveess iesig. She makes clea that he wk is abut the ele t

the polics. In the lm A Strong Clear Vision, Lin hammers on

hw the ccet ca eve be altee chage by smee

other than the arst. The concept is the strong clear vision of

the arst and if it s manipulated by others, indierence could

be the esult. This is imtat whe viewes eceive es

wk. I Lis Vietam Memial esig, thee wee may

agumets a ctvesies agaist he wk. The esig

did not appear as a tradion of the classic war monuments.

However, through thorough explanaon of her concept, people

ealie the meaig behi he esig a ackwlege

it. Lis thughts elate t my wk because I iscvee the

de-installaon [is to]return the land

Left: park(ing) day (2009,

ofcial website).


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ConCEpTUALIzATIon20

importance of an arsts sole idea seen through an enre

ject. I was isie t exle hw simlicity ca be

imperave with any project as long as it maintains a strong,

simle ctext.

Temporary Works

San Francisco is the center of a global public parks event tled

PARK(ing) Day. This form of temporary landscape displays a

unique idea of converng metered parking stalls into green

saces. The evet isie me because f its esie t be

creave and promote eco-friendly transportaon by removing

vehicula akig saces a elacig them with scial

lascae gatheig saces. I geeal, uses a viewes ae

exposed to awareness of rethinking about public transportaon

(PARK(ing) Day Ocial Website, 2009).

The wateft f Bkly, new Yk, ecmasses a histic

tobacco warehouse. Built in 1870 and saved from total

destrucon in 1998, this unique open space is connuously

reused for purposes well beyond its original intent (2009,

Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy). The warehouse is

velke by the massive Bkyl Bige a es u t

Emie-Fult Fey State pak. This lace bught fth ieas

and inspiraon for one, its industrial abandonment; and two,

its ew uses. The ak hls ut mvies jecte t a

feestaig scee. The waehuse itself hsts at shws fm

local galleries and arsts. Altogether, this locaonal identy

bigs uses t a histic veacula sace that e-egages the

mind toward the exisng human-built world.

Above: The tobacco warehouse being reused for a

company social retreat (2009, Brooklyn Bridge

Park Conservancy).

promote eco-friendlytransportaon


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Cradle to Cradle

William Mcdugh a Michael Baugat ublishe

Cale t Cale with the stg ccet f waste equals

f. The auths escibe the cuet view f ecyclig as

me s wcycligecyclig ucts t a extet wheethey connue losing their original quality and eventually end

u as waste ayways. The bk als escibes the ccet

of eco-eciency as only an ecient short term strategy and

not an eecve long term strategy. Eciency means using

less, wasng less, or more precisely, reducon. However, as

McDonough states, reducondoes not halt depleon and

destruconit only slows them down, allowing them to take

place in smaller increments over a longer period of me (54).

Eco-eecveness presents a fresh, excing vision toward a new

future. When applying eco-eecveness, people want to more

f it. The aim is t e-make u huma-built wl whee waste,

emissis, a eclgical ftit ae existet. I the

ws, t e-esig a system that wats me f smethig

g athe tha less f smethig ba. Cale t cale

aempts to not only get away from the one way cradle to grave

mel, but cmletely ease it.

Mcdugh a Baugats visi elates t my

ccet because they ae alyig e. peviusly, I iscusse

some arsts and works that stress awareness of surroundings,

stg ccets a e-egagig the mi. The cale t cale

they is a me exteme aach t e-thikig i the ctext

that it challeges cmletely emakig thigs whee waste

equals f.

waste equals food


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EVEnT rESULT 23

Event Result

As planned, the installaon began with retrieving

mateial f the viewig stage. A quick ti t the lcal ecyclig

et esulte i a tuck full f lage cushe caba. The

stage was built eecvely with minimal damage to the site.

The show began and its conceptual imagery was amplied by a

collaboraon of Pink Floyd and Moby song tracks. Viewers used

this exeiece as a tuity t exle the mlithic

structure by viewing the projecon from dierent angles.

Uses als fu cmft i the caba stage; ealiig the

beauty of reusing materials. The installaon as a whole was

beauful. As people approached the silo itself, the projecon

aeae as if it was actually waig au the stuctue.

Alternavely, as people stood further away from the structure,

the projecon simply looked like a picture pasted on the

wall. The slieshw was clea i cl a the usty suface

emaie visible. A meaigful cmet t this wk was e-

installaon. Myself and helping friends packed up the electrical

and audio equipment; returned a plywood box (used for aplaorm supporng the projector) to its abandoned corner on

site; returned a school desk (used for the amplier and audio

equipment) to its useless state on site; removed the nails from

the ground and returned the cardboard to a recycling locaon

s it cul be se use f smethig that wul maitai

its high-quality. The installaon closed with a speech and social

gatheig, a the site was etue.

the installaon as awhole was beauful

the site wasreturned


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ConCLUSIon 25

Conclusion

I began this book by sharing how my thesis started with a realizaon: I saw the abandoned grain elevator

structure on 6th and Jackson in Moscow, Idaho, and was immediately drawn to its massive beauty and locaonal

identy. From there I explored concept and idea. During my thesis study, I read a foreword by John Dixon Hunt

i U Weilaches Betwee Lascae Achitectue a La At. Hut escibes lascae achitectue as a

conceptually barren eld. This phrase inspired me to prove otherwise. Creang a strong, clear concept is imperave

for landscape architects. Professional pracce and specically design-build-process in landscape architecture portrays

conceptualizaon on an everyday basis. The aim of this thesis as a whole is to break free from tradional landscape

architectural work where the nal product is the main component. Precisely, I want to highlight and celebrate the

process of idea generaon. By doing so, I created my own unique idea where users aending my installaon engaged

thei mis it e-thikig a huma-built system that is cfmable with atue. I e t avace it a ec-

eecve world, the one human created must essenally be part of natures status quo. Albert Einstein stated that the

world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the situaon.

I use the Jacks St. gai elevat as a thee-imesial scee t ject images that ae cucive t

re-thinking vernacular elements of the landscape. The installaon was successful. Together, projecon and the grain

elevator funconed as a shared cultural experience and became something well beyond the intenon of their original

use.


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BIBLIoGrApHY

Bibliography

Baugat, Michael a Mcdugh, William. Cradle to Cradle. nth pit pess, new Yk, nY. 2002

Fiebeg, Jatha.Art Since 1940 Strategies of Being: Second Edion. Prence Hall, N.J. 2000

Heste, ralh T. Design for Ecological Democracy. The MIT pess. Cambige, MA. 2006

Kw, Miw. One Place Aer Another. The MIT pess. Cambige, MA. 2002

Maha-Kelige, Lisa. Grain Elevators. Princeton Architectural Press, New York, NY. 1993

Weilache, U. Between Landscape Architecture and Land Art. Birkhauser, Basel, Switzerland. 1996

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Conceptual Projection (BLA Thesis)

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