Summerhouse ©Tom Hollenback, 2011 (Revised)
This proposal is for the construction of a temporary outdoor installation during the winter months at a public park in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tentatively titled Summerhouse, I envision the work as a small pavilion such as one might encounter in a garden or near a lake for recreation. My intention for the work is to trigger memories of summers past or summers idealized when those memories would be most welcomed—in the middle of a Minnesota winter—through the mnemonic devices of recorded sounds and the unexpected bright warmth of a fluorescent Plexiglas-and-steel structure glowing in the winter landscape. The sound component, recorded during the summer on multiple tracks and compiled in 24-hour loops, would be those associated with outdoor activities: seasonal bird songs, local baseball games, backyard barbeques, lawn mowers, sprinklers, neighborhood swimming pools as well as other snippets of ambient sound that capture the ebb and flow of contemporary life. Disseminated through small speakers placed within and without the structure, this aural component would be apparent but subtle enough to slip in and out of the participants’ awareness without becoming dominant.
It’s the nature of the fluorescent Plexiglas to glow even in low light levels. This glowing light would be reflected on upon the surrounding snow and generate green afterimages as one exits the structure. As I have conceived it, the structure would be a modified shed constructed of two-foot wide by eight-to-ten-foot high panels that can be bolted together. The interior would e lined in saturated orange/pink fluorescent Plexiglas panels with beveled edges to provide the most glow and covered with a skin of clear polycarbonate. The entry would be protected but open and facing south. A bench could be placed within the structure for seating and contemplation. By the time the snow melts, the pavilion would be dismantled and all traces erased.
Summerhouse ©Tom Hollenback, 2011 (Revised)
This proposal is for the construction of a temporary outdoor installation during the winter months at a public park in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tentatively titled Summerhouse, I envision the work as a small pavilion such as one might encounter in a garden or near a lake for recreation. My intention for the work is to trigger memories of summers past or summers idealized when those memories would be most welcomed—in the middle of a Minnesota winter—through the mnemonic devices of recorded sounds and the unexpected bright warmth of a fluorescent Plexiglas-and-steel structure glowing in the winter landscape. The sound component, recorded during the summer on multiple tracks and compiled in 24-hour loops, would be those associated with outdoor activities: seasonal bird songs, local baseball games, backyard barbeques, lawn mowers, sprinklers, neighborhood swimming pools as well as other snippets of ambient sound that capture the ebb and flow of contemporary life. Disseminated through small speakers placed within and without the structure, this aural component would be apparent but subtle enough to slip in and out of the participants’ awareness without becoming dominant.
It’s the nature of the fluorescent Plexiglas to glow even in low light levels. This glowing light would be reflected on upon the surrounding snow and generate green afterimages as one exits the structure. As I have conceived it, the structure would be a modified shed constructed of two-foot wide by eight-to-ten-foot high panels that can be bolted together. The interior would e lined in saturated orange/pink fluorescent Plexiglas panels with beveled edges to provide the most glow and covered with a skin of clear polycarbonate. The entry would be protected but open and facing south. A bench could be placed within the structure for seating and contemplation. By the time the snow melts, the pavilion would be dismantled and all traces erased.