10 Mt. House Rd. - Thesis Wrap Up

Moving the couch into the gallery with mom

With so much build up towards installation of my project and the entire thesis show, I have to admit that the whole process (once in full swing) was better than I had expected.  The hours were long, unexpected things came up, but in the end I am very proud of the final product and was very impressed with all my fellow artists as well. It was really a great environment to work in, with lots of helping hands, second, third, even fourth opinions on whether things were hanging straight or needed rearrangement.

My biggest challenge (once I actually go the couch in the gallery) in installation was the wall I needed built, spakled, sanded, and painted.  Kamil did such an excellent job so most of that was taken care of for me. Beyond that and printing all of my material, installation was alot of "fussing" with details.  After several meetings with my design class, I edited and placed the final touches including the lamp, tea cup & saucer, and magazines.

During installation I could already see that my "living room" was as inviting as I intended as other Inner Spacers used it as a relaxing place to rest! Once the show opened, it was truly rewarding to walk through the gallery and find people sitting down and looking through my books.  It truly came out the way that I pictured it in my mind and in my memory.

Unfortunately I was the victim of theft and two elements went missing from my installation.  This was very disheartening to me as a student and an artist.  The artifacts that were taken were personal and one of a kind. On three various occasions I came to the gallery to find that no monitors were even there.  As the only type of "security" the gallery has - this did not help my frustration with the situation.

On a much more positive note, the reception could not have been a bigger success and by the end of it the carpet in my space (which in a previous crit had been questioned because it looked to new) certainly had some wear and tear.

Meeting with the guest critics was also extremely helpful. Even though it was past the point of immediate changes, Yoonjai made several suggestions that I have been considering.  She said that my creation of an environment was really successful, but questioned how it would have been different had I not been there to narrate her through.  She thought perhaps giving the viewer more of a "start" would be helpful.  Another suggestion she made was that I document the project and perhaps that becomes a book of its own.  An evolution of the entire piece, and a way to continue showing it.

final installation

All in all Inner Space and 10 Mt. House Rd were very rewarding.
As an added measure of success,  aunts, uncles, and cousins who came to see the show said they truly felt right at home, as if they were sitting in Mimi and Poppy's living room back in South Orange.  I am confident that those who had never been there still felt its warmth and comfort.