Site Specific: Northwest Installation Art
July 1 to October 21, 2007
Whatcom Museum, 1892 Old City Hall
Jodi Rockwell, Be Here Now
Marc Dombrosky, Whatcommunication
Elizabeth Conner, Fugue
Kristen T. Ramirez, Business As Usual
Rose Anne Featherston, Wake Up!Photos by Heidi Anderson
The first floor galleries of the 1892 Old City Hall Building will be transformed into temporary contemporary art spaces on July 1, when the exhibition Site Specific: Northwest Installation Art opens. Participating local and regional artists have been asked to respond to some aspect of site: literally—relating to regional, local, or Old City Hall Building history or to the gallery space itself; and/or figuratively—responding to the way the gallery space is used or perceived within the context of the Museum.
The project began with a floor plan of the first floor and an invitation for the artists to come to the Museum and choose a gallery to contain the installations created on site, specifically for this exhibition. Artists were given a tour of the Old City Hall Building from the top floor to the basement, and were offered the use of the Museum’s Photo Archives for research and image-gathering proposes as they were encouraged to explore the building, the city, and the region from historical and present-day perspectives. Questions were asked, ideas were discussed, and proposals were submitted. The concept of placing newly-created works in a 115-year old, oddly-configured, adapted-use building poses interesting opportunities for artists and visitors alike, as it asks artists to translate their visions of the site so that viewers may interpret new meanings and make connections not only between the past and present, but also between art and life, and the community (visitors and citizens) and the individual (artist).
Participating artists: Elizabeth Conner (Vashon), Marc Dombrosky (Tacoma), Rose Anne Featherston (Bellingham), Kristen T. Ramirez (Seattle), Jodi Rockwell (Seattle).
Interviews with Participating Artists
Participating local and regional artists have been asked to respond to some aspect of the site: literally—relating to regional, local, or 1892 Old City Hall Building history; and/or figuratively—responding to the gallery space or its confines.
Open Site Specific Catalogue (pdf)