We have art in order not to die of the truth.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

CHANDELIER

view from MOTORCOURT view from GLASS POOL COVER view from INTERIOR ENTRY LANDING view from INTERMEDIATE LEVEL LANDING view from INTERMEDIATE LEVEL view from GYM view from POOL view from EXTERIOR ENTRY LANDING view from EXTERIOR ENTRY LANDING view from MAIN ENTRY LANDING view from MAIN ENTRY LANDING view from MAIN LEVEL LIVING view from MAIN LEVEL ELEVATOR view from MAIN LEVEL MEDIA ROOM view from MAIN LEVEL MEDIA ROOM view from WARREN'S OFFICE

 ARCHITECTURAL LOCATION / CONTEXT

mills studio identified the shaft like location for what artist Mads Christensen dubbed the “Chandelier” because it provided the opportunity for a single object or event to be experienced from many multiple perspectives, especially in elevation. The location is a smallish square space in plan enclosed by different configurations of opaque and transparent and nonexistent surfaces at the various floor levels. The qualities of the space and its enclosing surfaces change depending on the time of day and time of year, such as the existence and quality of the filtered light through the rock filled gabion wall. The enclosed space extends thirty to forty feet in height from the main level floor up past the upper level and intermediate level to the underside of the main sloped roof. The nature of the site-specific piece will determine the actual perceptible height of the “shaft.”  

The location is experienced upon arrival and departure from the house and property. It is an integral experience of everyday use of the house, such as going to and from the powder room. You see the space from a distance as soon as you enter the gate to the motorcourt and from all along the glass floor you begin to see the shaft like space extends downward to below, but you cannot see where it ends. You experience the space from close-up as you either walk down the public exterior stair along the east side of the property or down the interior private “back stair”. When at the top of the interior stair you can look down on the space and as you descend the stair you see the space in different elevations as you change position on the stairs. You see the space and its various surfaces directly without any “filter” between you and the space, you see the space through glass, and you momentarily lose connection with space behind opaque surfaces – the context of how you dynamically interact with the space changes as you change position in plan and elevation.

On the Main Level the space can be made invisible except when directly underneath the “shaft” or a site-specific piece could make you aware of the “shaft” from the entire Main Level by extending below the ceiling, emanating light from the shaft, of using the Main Level floor plane to extend perception of the “shaft.” The experience of being directly underneath the shaft will be dramatically different depending on if the site-specific piece is on the surfaces of the “shaft” or if the piece hangs within the shaft. Again, the Main Level floor plane could be used to locate one within the space of the shaft as opposed to standing underneath the shaft and looking up into the space.  

The shaft like location provides numerous subtlely different contexts and it must be determined if and how a site-specific piece ignores or embraces these varying and changing contexts. It must be determined if the piece is primarily a daytime or nighttime piece or embraces both equally. It must be determined if the piece is experienced statically from a single location and vantage point or more dynamically from multiple locations and perspectives. It must be determined if the surfaces of the space are the “artwork” or serve as background for a  “sculptural” piece hanging free from the enclosing surfaces. Like most of the locations mills studio has identified as opportunities for site specific artworks, this location provides the opportunity to explore, express, and focus on a myriad of different themes and concerns. Also. like most of the locations mills studio has identified, the architecture of this location forces the maker to confront and propose how art can and should or should not interact with architecture and space.

“CHANDELIER”

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I don’t want you looking at the light fixture; I want you looking at where the light goes. But more than that, I’m interested in the effect of light upon you and your perceptions.
~ James Turrell