Structure
Structure is a clay architecture piece created in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). It disuses the American Dream US citizens strive for and the capitalist structure it is formed around.
Inspiration
Hermann Warm, Walter Reimann, Walter Röhrig
Hermann Warm, Walter Reimann and Walter Röhrig were the three set designers for the 1920 German Expressionist horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). This film was a pioneer for the German Expressionist movement for film, utilizing similar techniques it its cinematography as physical artists like Kathe Kollwitz, Emil Nolde, Max Beckmann, and many others. When initially presenting my ideas to UWM professors, they stated I should aim to become more loose with my visuals, that the basic square and triangle shape of a house is so recognizable I should aim to create something more than an entirely realistic house, and to experiment. Because of this, I turned to film
|
its fictional worlds for inspiration, and one that immediately came to mind was Robert Wiene's Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The idea for my project is that the American Dream US citizens strive for is not there for the benefit of the people, but for the ultimate goal of more profit for the corporations they serve. This system is broken, unfair and it actively works against it's very workers. Because of these idea's, I wanted my final project to be distorted in some way, for the structure to be portrayed as unrealistic and unsafe. The almost suffocating, claustrophobic sets of this movie became intriguing to me, and with the idea of sharp lines being contrasted by soft environments, I decided to use these sets as my inspiration.
Process
Studies of abandoned houses in Detroit (Photographer: Frank Olito)