Mobile
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Visual Art / Events Inside Gallery 9700F
Posted By Manoj P Kesavan on Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 2:53 PM
A small dimly lit room. Against the wall is a low double bed … and it is made of human hair. Everything is still at first. Then a hand wearing silver rings on two fingers emerges from the bed, slowly feels around, and reaches out towards you …
It is strangely haunting, but no, it is not one of my nightmares — this was the start/setting for an installation and performance piece, "Exploring Touch," by artists Austin Ballard and Paige Cochran, held last Friday at Gallery 9700F.
[caption id="attachment_41" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Scene from installation/performance by Austin Ballard and Paige Cochran. Image courtesy of Gallery 9700F."]
- [/caption]
But then Gallery 9700F is not really a “gallery” — at least not in the conventional sense. It is more of a private venue, at a walking distance from the UNCC campus, where a small series of unique events are held. It also happens to be the apartment where two architecture students, Zac Porter and Aaron Cote, live.
Cote and Porter, along with fellow student Charlotte Whitlock, started this project a few months ago, with guidance from their Professor Nora Wendl. It was conceived as “a series of openings (each pertaining to one — or more — of the five senses) that intersected contemporary art with the Home.”
In essence, installation art inhabits that indefinable realm between architecture and sculpture. Like the former, it responds to, and transforms the space it occupies, but often with the levity and the relative lack of restrictions, like the latter. Then the element of performance brings in a whole another dimension, adding the layers of immediacy, unpredictability, and often interactivity.
But ultimately what makes 9700F unique is the very fact that it all happens in a little apartment: the artists are no longer dealing with the abstract/universal space of a gallery/museum/public square, but are challenged to respond to the mundane personal and private space of day to day use. The result is surprisingly striking yet relatable. And because of that, this series of well conceived and executed works have also been some of the more intriguing experimental creations seen (or well, heard/smelt/felt …) around here recently.
The final installation in this series, by artists Landon Robinson and Josh Padgett focusing on Smell & Taste, will take place this Friday (12/11/09), at 6 pm.
Directions: Go to the Mallard Green Apartments (9800 Mary Alexander Rd. Charlotte, 28262), turn right at the entrance to the complex, and go to the very end of the road to Apt. 9700F. Or go to the UNCC campus, and join the other pilgrims as they start their trek from the front of the Storrs Building (Architecture School) at 5:30pm.
Open up your senses - it promises to be a fulfilling journey. And who knows what dreams may follow afterward …
Also this Friday: Our "Blogger-in-Chief" Barbara Schreiber will have a show of her new work, titled Buyer’s Remorse – and other small tales for rough times, opening at the cool Dialect Gallery in NoDa [6 p.m.-9 pm, 12/11/09 @ 3204-C N Davidson St.]. Check it out!
Speaking of...
Latest in Point 8
-
Object lessons
Oct 24, 2011 -
Meet the neighbors at UNC Charlotte
Sep 13, 2011 -
Art in a cart: Mobile Art Studio for Creative Disruption
Jul 28, 2011 - More »
More by Manoj P Kesavan
-
From Banksy to Banktown
Jul 28, 2010 -
Recession, architecture and Dope: A tale of two art shows
Jun 22, 2010 -
Save our libraries. Redux — the 'Crying Wolf' edition
Jun 2, 2010 - More »
