The Art Haus SLC                
  • Home
  • About The Art Haus SLC
  • Who We Are
  • Events
  • Art in the Living Room
  • The Art Haus SLC Blog

HOME

5/31/2012

9 Comments

 
HOME



When people speak about the basic needs of humanity, they often list food, water, clothing, and shelter. Perhaps because of this, many within architectural theory have speculated on "the primitive hut," meaning the first instance of shelter, and thereby the first example of architecture.
Picture
As human beings, we need more than just shelter: Many of us have instincts to belong to a place. This may be particularly true in America with our legacy of land ownership and its connection to power, but it goes deeper than that. My wife grew up in a family that was continually moving (she went to 6 different schools before graduating from high school). After graduating, she has lived in several states and abroad. For years she has had an intense longing to feel at "home". Since we have been married she rarely, if ever, expresses this need. It may be because she has given up in the face of our adventures, but I hope it is because she feels a sense of contentment and place within our marriage.

Looking at my own roots, I pause at the moment my graphic designer-cousin helped me develop my first architectural portfolio after my first internship. It has been since then that I have seen the world as a series of connections--either potential or actualized. I remain excited to acknowledge the possibilities of collaboration. Still, this worldview is a two sided coin. While it is thrilling to see potential connections everywhere, it is saddening to occasionally see those potentials go to waste, whether due to personal conflicts, unwilling attitudes, busyness, overextension, or other incompatibilities.

I am a curator because of my awareness of these connections. My ability to see the cohesive and shared ideals of those around me is most compelling and has the most potential when it regards creative individuals who are open and willing to try new things. When I see a trend I want to celebrate it and help it to develop. This is the easy part. The hardest part of the process is finding a place for these collaborations to happen. You can have the best idea and the most cohesive group, but if the atmosphere and circumstances aren't just right then nothing may ever come from that potential.

Realizing the impact that space and atmosphere have on a cohesive social group has inspired me as a designer. I am interested in dynamic spaces. A large part of our life is place. Modernism is obsessed with kinetics, motion, and the machinery that makes it possible, but avante garde art realizes it primarily through metaphor, choreography, and capturing motion through successive frames (i.e., film). There is a push to literally and explicitly realize kinetic expression. Much of this is born out of the digital revolution, but has deep roots in the past. I seek to enhance our spatial experience by incorporating and embracing the kinetic experiential possibilities of a space. In itself, this pursuit is a relatively young one. Thus, I put out a call for entries and gathered a substantial and impressive collection of work that is expressly interested in kinetic composition. That is what TIMEless is: a multidisciplinary collection of artist and creators who are creating in four dimensions.

Just as my exhibition creates a forum or catalog of artists working on the same idea, Art Haus SLC is interested in harboring conversations and collaborations in Salt Lake City specifically. In order to do so, Art Haus SLC needs a home, a space, an atmosphere. The only way that will be made possible is through your generous contribution through supporting its mission on Kickstarter.


Guest blog by:
Ralph Spencer Steenblik

Co-curator of TIMEless - An exhibition exploring the 4D possibilities of space which will open this fall in Salt Lake City as a part of the programing of Art Haus SLC.
9 Comments
Jendar
5/31/2012 12:27:30 am

Spencer,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. And thanks for believing in the art Haus slc. I'm really looking forward to have your show in the city and show people the wonderful things that can happen when a group of artists collaborate and work together.

Reply
Lori link
5/31/2012 06:17:42 am

Interesting thoughts Spencer that I will mull over. I hope I can pass through the Art Haus when Bronson and I get to Utah for a day or two in June. Congrats you guys on making this happen!

Reply
Rachel link
5/31/2012 06:59:15 am

Firstly: bless Art Haus. I think it is such an important project.

Secondly: I've seen TimeLess and what can happen when a lot of artists come together. It is a great fit for Art Haus, especially with its emphasis on different medias.

Thirdly: I have a long way to go, but now try to make everywhere I am a home. Even when I'm biking for two weeks straight. Or don't have a bed. Or etc. :)

Reply
Ralph Spencer Steenblik link
5/31/2012 07:36:53 am

Thanks everyone. Especially thanks to Rachel for continually being my editor.

Lori:

I can't wait to meet you and Bronson. Thanks for checking out my post. Collaboration is key. Also Art Haus SLC doesn't yet have a space. That is part of the reason for the kickstarter. Thus instead of "dropping by" the art haus in June "drop by" the kickstarter so that in the future you can "drop by" the art haus. :)

Reply
Sara Moncivais
5/31/2012 01:26:30 pm

Thanks for this post, Spencer, and thanks to your wife for her editing skills.

I've also moved so much I have begun to think of "home" as a very vague and ever-changing thing. Home is where your rump rests right? But I've also been thinking quite a bit about identity and what shapes us and I believe this is tied to what we would call our "home" in a more structural sense.

I work in a field that pays a lot of attention to space and how it affects the development of the individual. About a year ago I was in a studio with about 13 people from around 8 different countries and we all began to explore simply how we walked and we all later voiced a deep connection to how our movement was developed around the spaces we grew up in. I grew up in Texas and felt comfortable taking up large amounts of space and moving slowly while my colleague grew up in Hong Kong and moved quickly and was inclined to taking as little space as possible.

This long rant was simply to say: Our homes are part of our identity. Those four walls we learn to move around in change the way we move in the world and the way we engage with people.

What kind of space will The Art Haus SLC be? I don't know, but I am certain it will be just as important in my development (and hopefully many others) as any home.

Right? Right? YEAH!

Reply
Haylee Gunnerson
6/4/2012 01:20:13 pm

I really enjoyed reading this, and agree with Sara's comment. I hadn't thought much about "home" and how much it becomes part of your identity. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Reply
Haylee Gunnerson
6/4/2012 01:32:27 pm

....and in response to the question, "What does home mean to you?" I would say that home is not only your place of residence, but family and community. I have grown up, and now have a home of my own, but when I get to go back where I grew up--either to the actual house, or even just to the city, I feel I am back "home."

Reply
Brooke Eddington
6/5/2012 10:02:32 am

I think that home really is where my husband and family are and where I feel that I am loved and comfortable. If I don't have those things I tend to feel out of place and uncomfortable. If I have those things then I know that I can be myself and that is what I consider home. I am really interested in this blog and can't wait for more posts.

*For the Shabby Apple contest: I shared this on my facebook!

Reply
Rachel Hunt link
6/5/2012 03:24:55 pm

p.s. Aside from trying to make everywhere home, home is a bed and the internet. :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    The Art Haus SLC

    Bringing creativity to the lives of individuals, families and students in the Salt Lake City area.

    Archives

    July 2013
    May 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    Categories

    All
    Arts Education
    Community
    Contemporary Arts
    Dewey Square
    Donate
    Fox 25
    Kickstarter
    Multicultural
    Mural
    New Venue
    Os Gemeos
    The Art Haus Slc
    Timeless

    RSS Feed