DAAP: Fill in the gaps

Unique works of art grace the walls, floors and even a ledge in the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning's installation art course's gallery, which opened Jan. 31.

The 12 students' pieces were also available for viewing throughout the DAAP building, as well as in the gallery. Professor Matthew Lynch's installation art class is offered through DAAP in order to expose students to a more non-traditional form of art. The students in the class collaborated many times on pieces to integrate their ideas and also to help in the construction process.

"Installation art is something to be experienced," Lynch said. "It's a format in which one creates art using site-specific techniques and many forms of media."

Installation art is best described as a way to transform the space allowed into a work of art. The pieces were mostly larger than the usual painting or sculpture.

Students worked with vast open spaces that can be found in galleries as well as lobbies within a building. The size of the pieces make many of them hard to miss.

The students used many different media to create the pieces, ranging from fishing line and Astroturf to belts, old slippers and movie projectors.

The piece that received the most attention was the work of Alan Marrero, a senior urban planning student. It is a life-like piece that was meant to reflect the life of a DAAP student. Marrero's piece was displayed above the main ramp leading to the dining area in DAAP.

The piece was simply a very realistic mannequin perched high atop a ledge over the main stairs. The mannequin looks eerily like its creator, down to the facial hair, glasses and hoodie. The piece also features a faux laptop into which the mannequin is staring intently. This is great commentary on the average day of a DAAP student because at any given time at least five DAAP students are entranced in the digital world of their portable PCs. Many passers-by had to stop and closely watch the piece to make sure it wasn't a confused student who mistook the ledge as a comfy place to work on projects.

"That is exactly the reaction an installation artist wants for their piece," Marrero said. "For someone to do a double take and actually take time to examine your piece in depth is a great compliment."

Samantha Johnson, a senior in fine arts, created another intriguing piece. Her piece consisted of strips of Astroturf twisted together and secured with nylon ties.

Johnson created a special machine that is used to twist very long pieces of material together. She described the process of creating the piece as "a 30-minute aerobic session for each piece." Johnson came across the idea for her installation while pondering the increase of square footage in the average American home during the years and the over-consumption of the American family.

The course, for now, is open only to DAAP students. Lynch hopes to open the class to CCM students who are interested in set design and performance art.

The installation art class's exhibition will be on display in the 840 Gallery in DAAP until Feb. 4.