Call me mad. During 2005-7 I built a place within a place in my studio, in effect I occupied the space with a work that came to be titled 'outpost'. I just assumed I would find a public site to temporarily install the work; more specifically an open civic
outpost
a civic monument for a space located within a public court building of the City of New York
outpost is an installation that occupies the center of an open civic space, giving the impression of being a place within a space. It is a platform on which precariously stands a dais. Surrounding the platform is a system of ropes and stanchions that seem either to direct or to prevent approach to the podium. Cut into the platform, surrounding the podium are speaker and speaker-like impressions. Although alluding to the existence of amplified sound, the work is in fact silent—the enveloping type of silence that occupies a space of contemplation. The platform of the sculpture measures 10 x 10 x 6 feet. The materials are welded steel, cast rubber, speakers (silent), stanchions and rope. It would occupy a space of about 30 x 30 feet, which could be located within a larger room or hall. I am proposing to site this project in an interior space within the municipal buildings of lower Manhattan. This is a work that takes on a multitude of interconnected meanings when considered in the context of open public access within a larger civic edifice. A platform, a podium, an amplification system—the sculpture speaks of potential. The potential of projecting voice and ultimately being heard. Because it is physically silent it avails the opportunity for the viewer to fill in the blank—to fill in or imagine the position of being at, or the nature of the voice coming from, the podium. What one has to say, wants to say, accompanied by the possibility of being heard. There is the witnessing of the podium, of hearing, or listening to what is being spoken, being told. The silence references or reinforces both the potential and the dilemma of this situation. It is the anxious anticipation inherent in expressing one’s voice when at the podium, at being the center of attention. It is the profundity of such a position of agency—unoccupied—in silence. The platform is not only the place upon which one speaks but also the bases upon which one speaks. It is a position of access. Because the work remains open to individual interpretation outpost takes on its meaning in relation to personal experience, dependent on one’s history, on circumstance, on inclination. And because in this proposal it would occupy an open civic space—a room in the court building— it addresses architectonically a keystone of the republic, the right of the individual to speak and to be heard. Sited in such a place outpost transforms into a civic monument—one that takes on its full implication or meaning when placed within the subjectivity of the civic system itself. The public for this work will be primarily those who come and go on a daily or one time basis within the building for its intended purpose. I would like the work to remain installed up to 6 months which is the standard permit duration for a temporary public work of art from other city agencies. This is also a span of time which allows the public to come to know and become internally familiar with a public work. Over time, when passed by day by day, a work transfigures in one’s mind and at its best provides prophetic insight. The presence of this work at such a location, within the architecture of the court system, holds the capacity for such a transformative experience. The artist understands issues of maintenance and will take the full responsibility to maintain the physical appearance of the space during the installation. Ann Messner May 2007
Call me mad. During 2005-7 I built a place within a place in my studio, in effect I occupied the space with a work that came to be titled 'outpost'. I just assumed I would find a public site to temporarily install the work; more specifically an open civic
outpost
a civic monument for a space located within a public court building of the City of New York
outpost is an installation that occupies the center of an open civic space, giving the impression of being a place within a space. It is a platform on which precariously stands a dais. Surrounding the platform is a system of ropes and stanchions that seem either to direct or to prevent approach to the podium. Cut into the platform, surrounding the podium are speaker and speaker-like impressions. Although alluding to the existence of amplified sound, the work is in fact silent—the enveloping type of silence that occupies a space of contemplation. The platform of the sculpture measures 10 x 10 x 6 feet. The materials are welded steel, cast rubber, speakers (silent), stanchions and rope. It would occupy a space of about 30 x 30 feet, which could be located within a larger room or hall. I am proposing to site this project in an interior space within the municipal buildings of lower Manhattan. This is a work that takes on a multitude of interconnected meanings when considered in the context of open public access within a larger civic edifice. A platform, a podium, an amplification system—the sculpture speaks of potential. The potential of projecting voice and ultimately being heard. Because it is physically silent it avails the opportunity for the viewer to fill in the blank—to fill in or imagine the position of being at, or the nature of the voice coming from, the podium. What one has to say, wants to say, accompanied by the possibility of being heard. There is the witnessing of the podium, of hearing, or listening to what is being spoken, being told. The silence references or reinforces both the potential and the dilemma of this situation. It is the anxious anticipation inherent in expressing one’s voice when at the podium, at being the center of attention. It is the profundity of such a position of agency—unoccupied—in silence. The platform is not only the place upon which one speaks but also the bases upon which one speaks. It is a position of access. Because the work remains open to individual interpretation outpost takes on its meaning in relation to personal experience, dependent on one’s history, on circumstance, on inclination. And because in this proposal it would occupy an open civic space—a room in the court building— it addresses architectonically a keystone of the republic, the right of the individual to speak and to be heard. Sited in such a place outpost transforms into a civic monument—one that takes on its full implication or meaning when placed within the subjectivity of the civic system itself. The public for this work will be primarily those who come and go on a daily or one time basis within the building for its intended purpose. I would like the work to remain installed up to 6 months which is the standard permit duration for a temporary public work of art from other city agencies. This is also a span of time which allows the public to come to know and become internally familiar with a public work. Over time, when passed by day by day, a work transfigures in one’s mind and at its best provides prophetic insight. The presence of this work at such a location, within the architecture of the court system, holds the capacity for such a transformative experience. The artist understands issues of maintenance and will take the full responsibility to maintain the physical appearance of the space during the installation. Ann Messner May 2007