close to home

Past Present and FutureThis sketch shows the flow of the space, how each figure is spaced together to allow movement throughout the area. You can also see the base of the structure and where the posters are placed on them.

Looking at the Close to Home Exhibit in the Gatewood Studio Arts Building, there are many interesting facts about the history of modernism. The exhibit talks about some of Edward Loewenstein’s work and works of women who were enrolled in the program years ago. It was very interesting how the information was displayed. The structures inside of the exhibit provided a better visual connection with the viewer and the way they were arranged made a better flow of traffic and allowed you to be able to view all of the information provided in the exhibit. This installation provided information about the modernism era to the viewer in hands on fashion, allowing them to relate to modernism and giving them inspiration to design.

The exhibit can be entered from either side of the room. The information can be either viewed from earliest to most recent or visa versa. Inside the exhibit are laminated vertical structures that are stained, painted and nailed together. The information for the exhibit is displayed on posters that are attached to metal panels with magnets. The way these structures are designed is as though they are abstract views of houses, with a post and beam design. Since modernism is an idea of striping away ornamentation and focusing on the purpose and function of a design, these structures would be perfect for the exhibit.

The lights inside the exhibit are used to provide light for the posters as well as display shadows from the structures, making the exhibit more eye catching. The colors are very neutral except for the metal panels. The materials provide a metaphor for the dominate materials used for the design of modernism buildings, wood being the structure of the building, metal being the industrial aspect of the building and concrete on the floors as a design element for building materials.

In this illustration you can see the full structure. You can see the beams and the overhang, which is similar to a house structure.

Inside this exhibit there are posters that display events in that time era and magazines and other media that provided a way for design to travel around the world. There are also projectors and computers that provide further information. These technology items provide information that pops out to the viewer, since the screen is constantly changing. The computer does provide more information but because of its placement in the room (turned on the corner in the back of the room) it doesn’t necessarily help with the exhibit. The cables from these electronics are distracting from the structures. The images being displayed in the exhibit all have an idea of modernism, from the designs of the past women in the program to Edward Loewenstein’s buildings to the design of the structures by the students in the program this year.

In this illustration you can see the multiple structures being placed together to allow movement throughout the space. You can also see the skeletal structure inside the figures to replicate the structure inside of a home or building.