Aubree’s Site Specific Installation

Aubree’s Site Specific Installation

Bubble steps

Images:

Sketch of “poem layout”

Normal pyramid:

Bubble pyramids:

K

Mind Map of Concept and Memory:

Context:

It was late August, the grass was green and full like a carpet. The summer had been a challenge but we were back in town. Preparing for the semester to start we tried to enjoy every moment we could. Coopers first birthday was less than a week away. We went to the park and had dinner in our favorite spot, I don’t remember what we ate. 

     Cooper was happy that night, full of energy and excitement, responding to the light buzz of sounds drifting over from the other people enjoying the beautiful dusk weather. Cooper loved bubbles. Perhaps it was their softness, or subtle iridescence that captures his interest. Whatever it was, he wanted to touch it. So, that night, in the magic of the setting light, he walked. Once he did it once he did it again and again. His first uneasy steps quickly steadied. With his goal in mind he chased the bubbles back and forth. The bubbles seemed like magic to him. There is still a magic about them, to me.

     We take this liquid, and we force it to stretch around this wand and force enough air at it until it breaks away from us and becomes units of floating iridescence. After they mesmerize the inevitably pop. Their fleeting beauty parallels our existence in several ways. The ephemerality of their making and their temporary nature is something that cannot be escaped. Our only option is to keep our eyes open and try to enjoy it as long as we can.

     Watching a child grow is much the same way. They change and take risks and learn. There is an iridescent energy about them, never just one color. Each moment is ephemeral, never being repeated or captured perfectly.

What I’m doing and why:

     My pyramids are my way of examining. With this installation I plan to examine concepts of memory, ephemerality, symbolism, and communication.  I don’t remember everything of that moment or evening, but I remember Coopers mesmerized, determine face. I remember the light, and the way the grass felt. I want to respond to this memory, taking my pyramid form and softening it and giving it an an iridescent surface to resemble the surface of a bubble. Laying them in the grass where Cooper took his first steps. Accompanying this piece will be a translated poem about the moment and space.

Update: The “Bubble” Pyramids are out of the kiln and I will be going to the park this weekend to see them in the space.  I have also make an extra 20 pyramids that are not finished yet but will be if there aren’t enough for the space.  I’ve been thinking about the best way to to the performance aspect of the piece.  I think will video the performance from an angle that obstructs a clear view of what’s going on.  But my thoughts are still in the works.  Here are some pictures of the pyramids!!!